Tragedy struck on Wednesday at the Olabisi Onabanjo University,
Ago-Iwoye, Ogun, when unknown assailants killed a lecturer, just as ASUU
called off its five-month old strike. The News Agency of Nigeria
reports that the victim, Dr Segun Onabanjo, was a senior lecturer at the
Department of Sociology. According to eyewitnesses, the assailants
broke into his residence in Odomolasa area of Ilese-Ijebu at about 1a.m.
on Wednesday, shot the lecturer and carted away some personal and
household items. NAN learnt that the corpse has since been deposited in
an undisclosed mortuary. When contacted on telephone, the Police Public
Relations Officer of Ogun Police Command, DSP Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed
the killing of the lecturer. Adejobi said the command was on the trail
of the killers who escaped through a nearby bush. “We are already
working on some leads; the police engaged the criminals when they
arrived at the scene and some were believed to have sustained injuries
in the duel. “We combed the area and found some blood stains which we
hope will help in this case,” he said. “The police command is seriously
investigating this case and the suspects will be brought to justice.’’
Adejobi called on medical doctors in the state to alert the command in
case they noticed anyone with gunshot wounds in their hospitals.
Meanwhile, lecturers have resumed work at the university in compliance
with the directive of the national secretariat of Academic Staff Union
of Universities. Students’ turn-out was still low as some were seen
returning to the campus as at the time of filling this report.
Thursday, 19 December 2013
Top 10 Most Spoken Languages In All Of Africa
Swahili is most widely spoken African language. Swahili is spoken in
these countries: Tanzania 99%, Kenya 87%, Uganda 85%, Burundi 55%,
Democratic Republic of the Congo 48%, Rwanda 28%, Swahili is also spoken
in southern Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan and northern Mozambique and the
Comoros Islands. It has more than 11 million native speakers (speak
Swahili as first language) and more than 120 million secondary speakers.
That makes Swahili the largest African language.
Arabic is widely spoken in many African countries, but it is naturally not counted as one of African languages even though there's arabic-africans lives in Africa; it is because most of native African countries has a low percentage of Arabic speakers.
Since almost every African country was at one time a colony, speaking English, Portuguese, or French will also help you communicate. Many Africans will speak Creole or pidgin versions of these European languages and they may not be so easy to understand when you first hear them.
1) Arabic
2) Kiswahili
3) Hausa
4) English
5) Amharic
6) French
7) Oromo
8) Yoruba
9) Igbo
10) Zulu
Arabic is widely spoken in many African countries, but it is naturally not counted as one of African languages even though there's arabic-africans lives in Africa; it is because most of native African countries has a low percentage of Arabic speakers.
Since almost every African country was at one time a colony, speaking English, Portuguese, or French will also help you communicate. Many Africans will speak Creole or pidgin versions of these European languages and they may not be so easy to understand when you first hear them.
1) Arabic
2) Kiswahili
3) Hausa
4) English
5) Amharic
6) French
7) Oromo
8) Yoruba
9) Igbo
10) Zulu
Nigeria Is Failed State. What Remains Is Its Disintegration—eleazu
Dr. Uma Eleazu is a man of many parts. He has made sterling
contributions towards building the Nigeria nation. In 1976, he was
appointed Director/Coordinator of the National Policy Development Centre
(Think Tank), a post he held until the body was transformed into the
present National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS),
Kuru, Jos and became its pioneer director of research.
He was a member of the 1979 Constitution Drafting Committee as well as a member of the committee that drafted the present 1999 constitution. In 2006, he served in the committee set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to look into the constitution. He had also served as Executive Director of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and a former chairman of Petroleum Product Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of Nigerian national Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). In 1993, he ventured into politics and aspired to be the president on the platform of Social Democratic Party (SDP).
In an interview with Saturday Sun, Dr. Eleazu said Nigeria has failed and what remains is its fragmentation. He called for sovereign or national conference to halt this dangerous trend. He also revealed how the military forced what it wanted in the constitution by rejecting what the people actually wanted.
What is your view on the state of the nation?
It is like a ship in an ocean being tossed about by the waves and the captain and all the handlers of the ship appear to be in the drinking room not realising that the ship they are supposed to be piloting may capsize. This is the image of the nation I see in my mind today.
Where did we get it wrong?
It is a question of leadership. People who are in leadership positions must have a burden to help the nation. It is the burden that they have that will lead them to establish the kind of policies that could help the nation. We have problems on the leadership side. When people talk about leadership, it is a kind of amorphous term. It includes the people, who, for the time being, hold office. It includes the political party that put them in power. It includes all the people who have been appointed at various points in the course of policy making. It is not the reflection of the president alone. It is a reflection of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that is manipulating what is happening in Nigeria.
The leadership group in this country has not got it right and so the ship of state is being steered into turbulent waters. Those in government don’t even seem to accept that Nigeria is a failed state. The definition of a failed state is one in which the state no longer has the monopoly of the means of violence in the society. Nigeria does not have it. Boko Haram can decide to strike anytime, anywhere and the government appears unable to do anything about it. MEND can decide that they would block pipeline and they just do it and nothing happens. Other armed gangs are likely to come up and say we must revenge and nothing happens.
Gradually, you find out that there are pockets of people who own means of violence to challenge the monopoly of the means of violence of the state. As these pockets are growing that’s one definition of a failed state. On the economic front, when you have a state in which the distribution of its wealth is skewed against the majority, that also shows that the state has not got the capacity to redistribute its wealth equitably to its people. For example, all the money we make in oil, if you divide it by the number of people who live in Nigeria, you find out that they are people who live below two dollars a day and we have over one million multi-millionaires. You should know that something is wrong. Our productive middle class has disappeared because we have not conducted the kind of policies to create the kind of environment in which people can develop their own initiatives.
All through Nigeria has failed its population. There is no electricity, so if you want light, you have to buy your own generator, buy diesel or petrol. We used to buy diesel between N70 and N80; now it is more than N160 per litre. For petrol, you are a living witness of what has happened. All that our government does is to squeeze the people more and more. I don’t get anything from my government, not even protection. I worked in the US for few years after my doctoral degree, but toady, they are prepared to pay me social security even if it is N70 dollars (I’m not telling you what it is), but I’m entitled to it because I worked there. In Nigeria, I worked more years and I have no pension. They said I didn’t merge my working days before the civil war with my working days after the civil war. I couldn’t get the documentation any more and they said bye-bye!
I have an uncle, who joined the civil service in 1943 and he worked until he was Principal Accounting Officer in the Ministry of Establishment. He is in the 90s and they stopped paying his pension many years ago. Every three or four months they would ask them to come to Umuahia for verification. Last time, I was in the village and I asked him, what’s happening. He said if I were around that I would have given him a ride but he couldn’t go to Umuahia again. This is a country where he put in his best days. He is not alone. There are many like that in Nigeria, who are old and the government has nothing for them. So, as far as I’m concerned, on the social sense, Nigeria is a failed state, a state that has nothing to do with our lives except to tax us and get their tax.
What should we be doing to arrest this dangerous trend?
People should be given opportunity of making input into the decisions that affect their lives, which is what, in those days, they referred as taking the government nearer home. Today, local governments don’t exist and the state governments are incompetent and if they are doing anything, we don’t know. As far as people are concerned, the way we need to go now is to give people back their government and let them govern themselves.
How? We have democracy, elected representatives at ward, state, zonal and federal levels. What do you mean?
Most people don’t even know their representatives at the various levels. The constituents have not even seen their representatives. Do they even have constituency offices where you go to meet them? How do you take government nearer to the people? I’m from Ohafia, in Abia State, where many villages make up the community. Each of these villages has its sovereignty; it is only when there is a threat that the villages come together. We cooperate, where it is necessary. We have a system of government that people understood; it is evident. In the modern type of system we are having, even when they have created a local government that includes people who ought to cooperate, but the intervention of political party politics has destroyed the cohesion, which was there before colonial or modern type of politics. That is, why when we talk of leadership, it includes the political party machinery that stands between the individuals and the points of decision. Once they foul up the system, there is not much we can do about it.
A friend of mine was asked by my community’s development union to come and give them lectures on how to get things done in the country. He just went on the internet and added up all the money that was supposed to have been given to my local government. Up till that point in 2008, we received about N3.2 billion, if you go to that local government does it show where that kind of money has been spent or used judiciously? It doesn’t. This February, the allocation is N117 billion.
Supposed, government gave my local government N117 billion this February and the component villages gather and share the money, to go and do what will benefit the villages. There will be more development than what is happening now. Why? They are dealing with a level of government that they understand and where the issues of politics are relevant to their daily lives. At that point they will be able to tell you what affects them. Every development union I know in Igbo land are the purveyors of development in their areas, not the local government nor the state government, and therefore, we need to revise the constitution of the country and state how we are to be governed. We need to restructure the whole system for effectiveness because with what we have now we can’t make it.
Are you among those canvassing for the sovereign or national conference?
When we have a serious issue like this, people begin to leave the main issue to discuss the aside issues. Whether sovereign or non-sovereign, we need a conference where we would sit down and ask ourselves, is this Nigerian project still viable? The people who are in the National Assembly can’t do it for us because they are interested parties. They are not likely to face the issues the way other people who are not members would face the issues. I read David Mark, Ekweremadu and others saying, no, no, the National Assembly is here, you can’t have another sovereign? Who told them that? Sovereignty belongs to the people and it is the people who elected you and gave you part of this sovereignty. The other part, they gave to state Houses of Assembly. The other part they gave to local government councils and retain the others. If local governments, state governments, national government failed them, they say, no come back. The issue of sovereign or no sovereign is red herring that people are dragging.
The sovereignty of this country is being challenged from many quarters. Why? It is because they are not happy the way things are. Former Zamfara State governor Sani Yerima was the first to start this thing in this dispensation by introducing the Sharia law. Unfortunately, former President Olusegun Obasanjo didn’t put his feet down and say, you can’t do that, this is what is in the 1999 Constitution and that is where we stand. It was negotiated between Azikwe, Awolowo, Sardauna and the colonial office in London that Nigeria should be a secular state. You can’t change that because it is a desideratum in the whole thing. How can one young man become a governor and decide that Nigeria has to have Sharia? Since we didn’t deal with that issue at that time, other states in the North started becoming Sharia and now Boko Haram said they want the whole country becoming Sharia and nobody is trying to see the root of all these. There is no time we said the Nigeria federation should be theocratic. It was meant to be a secular state where everybody has every right to worship the kind of God he wants to worship. If we wanted theocracy, those of us who are Christians, God is our King and then we can set it up. So, that is first challenge to the sovereignty of the country. The next are the splinter groups, which are saying the distribution of economic wherewithal in this country is against them and they took up arms and you dialogue with them and gave amnesty. Biafra had done it in a clean way and they went to Aburi, Ghana and discussed and they came here and the decisions were toppled. That was when everybody got there and said let’s dissolve the whole thing; even the northerner said so. The July counter-coup, which General Yakubu Gowon led, the shout of the North was, “Araba.” They wanted to go. Also, Gideon Orkah, during his coup broadcast, also cut off North and said we should go.
In other words, people are not happy on how Nigeria is constituted. Personally, I’m not happy with it, but I’m prepared to sit down on a table with others and agree on the conditions and terms we should exist. Should Nigeria continue as a country or should Nigeria go as a confederation? If we are going as confederation, what countries are coming together? Can we redefine the boundaries within Nigeria, since we have six geo-political zones? South West is homogeneous. South East is homogeneous, in terms of ethnic nationalities. South South is not. North Central is not. North West is almost, and North East is not all homogenous. There is an area where it is not easy to know who will be in one state. People should first of all be asked where they want to belong. Idoma is in Benue State now, but they are Igbo. Ochidoma is Ukpabi. He is from Arochukwu. Idah has relationship with Onitsha. So, we have not really sorted out ourselves since the colonial people came and drew lines on the map of Nigeria.
I’m for a national conference based on ethnic nationalities to decide what is the constitution of the Nigeria people, what powers to yield to a central government, what powers we want to retain among ourselves. People don’t know how United States started. They started first of all as a confederation before they drew up the current constitution after about 13 years. That is why they said, ‘so that we may have a more perfect union.’ So, they drew up this current constitution. If we dissolve into confederation and each one developing along its own line, the force of economic integration would bring us back together in the future. Lamido Sanusi woke up one morning and said Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has donated N100 million to Kano State for victims of bomb blast. Since when did CBN become a Red Cross? Yet nothing happens.
You were a member of committee that drafted 1979 constitution, 1999 constitution and part of the 2006 constitution reform Obasanjo set up. What was your experience?
Rotimi Williams was the chairman of the 1979 constitution drafting committee; the military gave him a blue print of what they wanted. Even the speech by Murtala Muhammed at the inauguration showed that they wanted the kind of constitution we drew up in 1979. Creation of states in Nigeria was a weapon of warfare. The first creation of states into 12 was done only to break the back of Biafra by cajoling what you have now, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Rivers State in order to squeeze Biafra into Igbo heartland, which was politics. In order to make it appear it is something that has happened in the other areas, they carved North into three places. [/b]When it came to writing a constitution, they did another thing. They changed the fiscal basis of the federation by taking over the oil tax, and oil royalties, which is supposed to have accrued to the owners. They created federation account, so that even though they have states, the states were not autonomous because they have no source of income of their own. Taxes go to the federation account. Customs duties go to the federation account, and royalties go to the federation account. So, what remains? That is why all the governors and everything have to go cap in hands, even till today, to the Federal Government to get money to run their states. You never run a federation like that.
In the 1979, the Gowon regime and Muhammed had started what it meant to have centralised power and centralised funds. In addition, from 1970, we have the ballooning of oil and they started seeing money flowing in and nobody wanted to leave that and so, they wanted a centralised system codified in a constitution and that was why they asked Rotimi Williams to steer the committee, even when people opposed it. There were many voices that said let’s go back to the parliamentary system based on the memos sent. In fact, majority of the people from the North wanted to go back to the parliamentary system. East also wanted the parliamentary system but this couldn’t agree with the military blue print. What we did in 1979 was to codify the military command when Aguiyi Ironsi was killed because of the Unification Edict and Gowon took over.
They said Ironsi was trying to put together Igbo domination. The Unification Edict and what we eventually put in 1979 is the same thing, provided the North, whether in Babariga or military uniform, are on top, there is no problem. That carried us to 1999 constitution of General Sani Abacha. Abacha wanted to tighten it up more. You have not seen the draft, which we debated in 1999. He called people together and they all came and made their impacts, but still they went back to Rotimi Williams to draft what they wanted. It is one thing when they call these conferences and people come and talk and send memos; it is another when they get lawyers to sit down and draft what they wanted. Over 90 per cent of what people wanted never got into the constitution.
If I sit down to bring papers (as the memos come they are multiplied and given to members), you find that what people wanted is not in the constitution. In 1999, when Abacha died, Abdulsalami said, go and ask people to debate that thing. We divided ourselves into various zones. I conducted the debate in what is now South-South. We got people together in a big hall in Port Harcourt, River State; we received memos on what they wanted. They wanted the oil royalty back to the owners of the land. There was an old man that called me aside as the leader. His name is Dapriye. He showed me agreement between his grandfather and King George V, after Queen Victoria. He said whatever they are doing if they didn’t allow them to get the royalty from the oil in the littoral area, the country will not stand. I dutifully relayed that to the chairman. This is the situation. I know the people that covered North-West said the zone wanted a return to the parliamentary system. In the East, the same thing from the papers, but when the chairman, who is a Professor of Law, went in with the military people, what they brought out as 1999 constitution has nothing to do with the result of the debate that we conducted.
To have national or sovereign national conference, the difference is that in the case of sovereign national conference, what the people decided they want is what stands; you don’t go about redrafting it; at best you conduct a referendum to make sure that is what they want. It is not the kind of thing that you start amending. If you do that, then it is no more what the people want. We can solve the problem by saying that we are not going to submit whatever that comes out of the sovereign national conference to the NASS, but we would allow the NASS to stay on until the end of their tenure and the next NASS would be elected along the line of whatever we agreed. That way, they can still retain their constituency allowances within the period.
Let us have a conference; if we don’t there would always be people who are going to challenge the existence of Nigeria. Nigeria is already a failed state; what remains is for it to disintegrate. It will just take a small thing to happen that nobody knows and you wake one morning and find out that one section of Nigeria says they don’t want to be part of Nigeria any more.
[b]Two years to 100 years of Nigeria other nations that we started with are ahead. What would be your advise to the government?
By 2014, we should have had a conference to now agree whether to stay with the amalgamation or deamalgamate the people who were brought together in 1914. That is why a conference is necessary at this time. The root of amalgamation in 1914 was economic. The colonial administration in the North didn’t have enough money to run the territory they had acquired them. In the colonial report in the 1913 sent to the secretary to the colony, the cost of administration of Southern Protectorate showed a surplus, whereas, North showed a deficit and Lord Luggard told the colonial government that it was better to amalgamate the two parts of Nigeria in order to have enough money to run the whole place. You can check that in memorandum written by Luggard when he was the governor. It is a big book. I have it. You will see the root of the amalgamation. Nobody asked the people whether they wanted to be amalgamated.
In the first legislative council, in which Nigerians participated in 1944, Tafawa Balewa said nobody asked them to be part of Nigeria, that British just joined them to people who have different culture and religion that have nothing to do with them and that these people had started talking about independence. This was in a speech he made at the legislative council in Lagos. He made a similar statement when Enahoro moved for independence and when they came out, Lagos crowd booed the northerners for not allowing independence to come before that of Ghana. They got annoyed and went home and said they were not coming back to Lagos for any conference.
A lot has happened in this country that the young generation don’t know. The root of this is captured in one of my books, “Federalism and Nation Building in Nigeria, 1946 to 1964.” British people were in a hurry to decolonise because the United Nations was saying that it was immoral to have colony; so they started putting together all the territories to give them independence. They created the West Indies Federation, it failed; they created the East Africa Federation, it failed; they created Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland; it failed. The only federation they created then that has not failed is Nigeria, which is bound to fail if we don’t sit down and talk and that is why when Biafra declared independence, British fought tooth and nail to make sure Nigeria didn’t fail because they hold it as the only success they have in the British Empire. They also created the Federation of Malaysia and Singapore; it failed. The time that Biafra was pulling out was also when Singapore was pulling out of the Federation of Malay, Singapore and North Borneo. Those were federations British put together. They were writing theories about federation government. Did it work? By 1964 that was when Singapore pulled out and then it remained North Borneo and Malaysia, later on they themselves pulled out.
East Africa dissolved into Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Federation of Rhodesia, Nyasaland dissolved into Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe. All the white people they were protecting concentrated in Zimbabwe. Left to me, Nigeria federation should fail and then you see development. It doesn’t mean we won’t have problems, but not the kind of problem we have now. Example, there is no way we live under Sharia. People that have not studied militant Islam don’t know Boko Haram and all these cosmetics that we are doing. Read books on militant Islam. Their aim is to have a government that is headed by a Muslim. They cannot live under a government that is not headed by a Muslim. Go and read carefully what the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) said. They are all sympathetic to the Islamic sect; if they succeed they would applaud them.
He was a member of the 1979 Constitution Drafting Committee as well as a member of the committee that drafted the present 1999 constitution. In 2006, he served in the committee set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to look into the constitution. He had also served as Executive Director of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and a former chairman of Petroleum Product Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of Nigerian national Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). In 1993, he ventured into politics and aspired to be the president on the platform of Social Democratic Party (SDP).
In an interview with Saturday Sun, Dr. Eleazu said Nigeria has failed and what remains is its fragmentation. He called for sovereign or national conference to halt this dangerous trend. He also revealed how the military forced what it wanted in the constitution by rejecting what the people actually wanted.
What is your view on the state of the nation?
It is like a ship in an ocean being tossed about by the waves and the captain and all the handlers of the ship appear to be in the drinking room not realising that the ship they are supposed to be piloting may capsize. This is the image of the nation I see in my mind today.
Where did we get it wrong?
It is a question of leadership. People who are in leadership positions must have a burden to help the nation. It is the burden that they have that will lead them to establish the kind of policies that could help the nation. We have problems on the leadership side. When people talk about leadership, it is a kind of amorphous term. It includes the people, who, for the time being, hold office. It includes the political party that put them in power. It includes all the people who have been appointed at various points in the course of policy making. It is not the reflection of the president alone. It is a reflection of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that is manipulating what is happening in Nigeria.
The leadership group in this country has not got it right and so the ship of state is being steered into turbulent waters. Those in government don’t even seem to accept that Nigeria is a failed state. The definition of a failed state is one in which the state no longer has the monopoly of the means of violence in the society. Nigeria does not have it. Boko Haram can decide to strike anytime, anywhere and the government appears unable to do anything about it. MEND can decide that they would block pipeline and they just do it and nothing happens. Other armed gangs are likely to come up and say we must revenge and nothing happens.
Gradually, you find out that there are pockets of people who own means of violence to challenge the monopoly of the means of violence of the state. As these pockets are growing that’s one definition of a failed state. On the economic front, when you have a state in which the distribution of its wealth is skewed against the majority, that also shows that the state has not got the capacity to redistribute its wealth equitably to its people. For example, all the money we make in oil, if you divide it by the number of people who live in Nigeria, you find out that they are people who live below two dollars a day and we have over one million multi-millionaires. You should know that something is wrong. Our productive middle class has disappeared because we have not conducted the kind of policies to create the kind of environment in which people can develop their own initiatives.
All through Nigeria has failed its population. There is no electricity, so if you want light, you have to buy your own generator, buy diesel or petrol. We used to buy diesel between N70 and N80; now it is more than N160 per litre. For petrol, you are a living witness of what has happened. All that our government does is to squeeze the people more and more. I don’t get anything from my government, not even protection. I worked in the US for few years after my doctoral degree, but toady, they are prepared to pay me social security even if it is N70 dollars (I’m not telling you what it is), but I’m entitled to it because I worked there. In Nigeria, I worked more years and I have no pension. They said I didn’t merge my working days before the civil war with my working days after the civil war. I couldn’t get the documentation any more and they said bye-bye!
I have an uncle, who joined the civil service in 1943 and he worked until he was Principal Accounting Officer in the Ministry of Establishment. He is in the 90s and they stopped paying his pension many years ago. Every three or four months they would ask them to come to Umuahia for verification. Last time, I was in the village and I asked him, what’s happening. He said if I were around that I would have given him a ride but he couldn’t go to Umuahia again. This is a country where he put in his best days. He is not alone. There are many like that in Nigeria, who are old and the government has nothing for them. So, as far as I’m concerned, on the social sense, Nigeria is a failed state, a state that has nothing to do with our lives except to tax us and get their tax.
What should we be doing to arrest this dangerous trend?
People should be given opportunity of making input into the decisions that affect their lives, which is what, in those days, they referred as taking the government nearer home. Today, local governments don’t exist and the state governments are incompetent and if they are doing anything, we don’t know. As far as people are concerned, the way we need to go now is to give people back their government and let them govern themselves.
How? We have democracy, elected representatives at ward, state, zonal and federal levels. What do you mean?
Most people don’t even know their representatives at the various levels. The constituents have not even seen their representatives. Do they even have constituency offices where you go to meet them? How do you take government nearer to the people? I’m from Ohafia, in Abia State, where many villages make up the community. Each of these villages has its sovereignty; it is only when there is a threat that the villages come together. We cooperate, where it is necessary. We have a system of government that people understood; it is evident. In the modern type of system we are having, even when they have created a local government that includes people who ought to cooperate, but the intervention of political party politics has destroyed the cohesion, which was there before colonial or modern type of politics. That is, why when we talk of leadership, it includes the political party machinery that stands between the individuals and the points of decision. Once they foul up the system, there is not much we can do about it.
A friend of mine was asked by my community’s development union to come and give them lectures on how to get things done in the country. He just went on the internet and added up all the money that was supposed to have been given to my local government. Up till that point in 2008, we received about N3.2 billion, if you go to that local government does it show where that kind of money has been spent or used judiciously? It doesn’t. This February, the allocation is N117 billion.
Supposed, government gave my local government N117 billion this February and the component villages gather and share the money, to go and do what will benefit the villages. There will be more development than what is happening now. Why? They are dealing with a level of government that they understand and where the issues of politics are relevant to their daily lives. At that point they will be able to tell you what affects them. Every development union I know in Igbo land are the purveyors of development in their areas, not the local government nor the state government, and therefore, we need to revise the constitution of the country and state how we are to be governed. We need to restructure the whole system for effectiveness because with what we have now we can’t make it.
Are you among those canvassing for the sovereign or national conference?
When we have a serious issue like this, people begin to leave the main issue to discuss the aside issues. Whether sovereign or non-sovereign, we need a conference where we would sit down and ask ourselves, is this Nigerian project still viable? The people who are in the National Assembly can’t do it for us because they are interested parties. They are not likely to face the issues the way other people who are not members would face the issues. I read David Mark, Ekweremadu and others saying, no, no, the National Assembly is here, you can’t have another sovereign? Who told them that? Sovereignty belongs to the people and it is the people who elected you and gave you part of this sovereignty. The other part, they gave to state Houses of Assembly. The other part they gave to local government councils and retain the others. If local governments, state governments, national government failed them, they say, no come back. The issue of sovereign or no sovereign is red herring that people are dragging.
The sovereignty of this country is being challenged from many quarters. Why? It is because they are not happy the way things are. Former Zamfara State governor Sani Yerima was the first to start this thing in this dispensation by introducing the Sharia law. Unfortunately, former President Olusegun Obasanjo didn’t put his feet down and say, you can’t do that, this is what is in the 1999 Constitution and that is where we stand. It was negotiated between Azikwe, Awolowo, Sardauna and the colonial office in London that Nigeria should be a secular state. You can’t change that because it is a desideratum in the whole thing. How can one young man become a governor and decide that Nigeria has to have Sharia? Since we didn’t deal with that issue at that time, other states in the North started becoming Sharia and now Boko Haram said they want the whole country becoming Sharia and nobody is trying to see the root of all these. There is no time we said the Nigeria federation should be theocratic. It was meant to be a secular state where everybody has every right to worship the kind of God he wants to worship. If we wanted theocracy, those of us who are Christians, God is our King and then we can set it up. So, that is first challenge to the sovereignty of the country. The next are the splinter groups, which are saying the distribution of economic wherewithal in this country is against them and they took up arms and you dialogue with them and gave amnesty. Biafra had done it in a clean way and they went to Aburi, Ghana and discussed and they came here and the decisions were toppled. That was when everybody got there and said let’s dissolve the whole thing; even the northerner said so. The July counter-coup, which General Yakubu Gowon led, the shout of the North was, “Araba.” They wanted to go. Also, Gideon Orkah, during his coup broadcast, also cut off North and said we should go.
In other words, people are not happy on how Nigeria is constituted. Personally, I’m not happy with it, but I’m prepared to sit down on a table with others and agree on the conditions and terms we should exist. Should Nigeria continue as a country or should Nigeria go as a confederation? If we are going as confederation, what countries are coming together? Can we redefine the boundaries within Nigeria, since we have six geo-political zones? South West is homogeneous. South East is homogeneous, in terms of ethnic nationalities. South South is not. North Central is not. North West is almost, and North East is not all homogenous. There is an area where it is not easy to know who will be in one state. People should first of all be asked where they want to belong. Idoma is in Benue State now, but they are Igbo. Ochidoma is Ukpabi. He is from Arochukwu. Idah has relationship with Onitsha. So, we have not really sorted out ourselves since the colonial people came and drew lines on the map of Nigeria.
I’m for a national conference based on ethnic nationalities to decide what is the constitution of the Nigeria people, what powers to yield to a central government, what powers we want to retain among ourselves. People don’t know how United States started. They started first of all as a confederation before they drew up the current constitution after about 13 years. That is why they said, ‘so that we may have a more perfect union.’ So, they drew up this current constitution. If we dissolve into confederation and each one developing along its own line, the force of economic integration would bring us back together in the future. Lamido Sanusi woke up one morning and said Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has donated N100 million to Kano State for victims of bomb blast. Since when did CBN become a Red Cross? Yet nothing happens.
You were a member of committee that drafted 1979 constitution, 1999 constitution and part of the 2006 constitution reform Obasanjo set up. What was your experience?
Rotimi Williams was the chairman of the 1979 constitution drafting committee; the military gave him a blue print of what they wanted. Even the speech by Murtala Muhammed at the inauguration showed that they wanted the kind of constitution we drew up in 1979. Creation of states in Nigeria was a weapon of warfare. The first creation of states into 12 was done only to break the back of Biafra by cajoling what you have now, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Rivers State in order to squeeze Biafra into Igbo heartland, which was politics. In order to make it appear it is something that has happened in the other areas, they carved North into three places. [/b]When it came to writing a constitution, they did another thing. They changed the fiscal basis of the federation by taking over the oil tax, and oil royalties, which is supposed to have accrued to the owners. They created federation account, so that even though they have states, the states were not autonomous because they have no source of income of their own. Taxes go to the federation account. Customs duties go to the federation account, and royalties go to the federation account. So, what remains? That is why all the governors and everything have to go cap in hands, even till today, to the Federal Government to get money to run their states. You never run a federation like that.
In the 1979, the Gowon regime and Muhammed had started what it meant to have centralised power and centralised funds. In addition, from 1970, we have the ballooning of oil and they started seeing money flowing in and nobody wanted to leave that and so, they wanted a centralised system codified in a constitution and that was why they asked Rotimi Williams to steer the committee, even when people opposed it. There were many voices that said let’s go back to the parliamentary system based on the memos sent. In fact, majority of the people from the North wanted to go back to the parliamentary system. East also wanted the parliamentary system but this couldn’t agree with the military blue print. What we did in 1979 was to codify the military command when Aguiyi Ironsi was killed because of the Unification Edict and Gowon took over.
They said Ironsi was trying to put together Igbo domination. The Unification Edict and what we eventually put in 1979 is the same thing, provided the North, whether in Babariga or military uniform, are on top, there is no problem. That carried us to 1999 constitution of General Sani Abacha. Abacha wanted to tighten it up more. You have not seen the draft, which we debated in 1999. He called people together and they all came and made their impacts, but still they went back to Rotimi Williams to draft what they wanted. It is one thing when they call these conferences and people come and talk and send memos; it is another when they get lawyers to sit down and draft what they wanted. Over 90 per cent of what people wanted never got into the constitution.
If I sit down to bring papers (as the memos come they are multiplied and given to members), you find that what people wanted is not in the constitution. In 1999, when Abacha died, Abdulsalami said, go and ask people to debate that thing. We divided ourselves into various zones. I conducted the debate in what is now South-South. We got people together in a big hall in Port Harcourt, River State; we received memos on what they wanted. They wanted the oil royalty back to the owners of the land. There was an old man that called me aside as the leader. His name is Dapriye. He showed me agreement between his grandfather and King George V, after Queen Victoria. He said whatever they are doing if they didn’t allow them to get the royalty from the oil in the littoral area, the country will not stand. I dutifully relayed that to the chairman. This is the situation. I know the people that covered North-West said the zone wanted a return to the parliamentary system. In the East, the same thing from the papers, but when the chairman, who is a Professor of Law, went in with the military people, what they brought out as 1999 constitution has nothing to do with the result of the debate that we conducted.
To have national or sovereign national conference, the difference is that in the case of sovereign national conference, what the people decided they want is what stands; you don’t go about redrafting it; at best you conduct a referendum to make sure that is what they want. It is not the kind of thing that you start amending. If you do that, then it is no more what the people want. We can solve the problem by saying that we are not going to submit whatever that comes out of the sovereign national conference to the NASS, but we would allow the NASS to stay on until the end of their tenure and the next NASS would be elected along the line of whatever we agreed. That way, they can still retain their constituency allowances within the period.
Let us have a conference; if we don’t there would always be people who are going to challenge the existence of Nigeria. Nigeria is already a failed state; what remains is for it to disintegrate. It will just take a small thing to happen that nobody knows and you wake one morning and find out that one section of Nigeria says they don’t want to be part of Nigeria any more.
[b]Two years to 100 years of Nigeria other nations that we started with are ahead. What would be your advise to the government?
By 2014, we should have had a conference to now agree whether to stay with the amalgamation or deamalgamate the people who were brought together in 1914. That is why a conference is necessary at this time. The root of amalgamation in 1914 was economic. The colonial administration in the North didn’t have enough money to run the territory they had acquired them. In the colonial report in the 1913 sent to the secretary to the colony, the cost of administration of Southern Protectorate showed a surplus, whereas, North showed a deficit and Lord Luggard told the colonial government that it was better to amalgamate the two parts of Nigeria in order to have enough money to run the whole place. You can check that in memorandum written by Luggard when he was the governor. It is a big book. I have it. You will see the root of the amalgamation. Nobody asked the people whether they wanted to be amalgamated.
In the first legislative council, in which Nigerians participated in 1944, Tafawa Balewa said nobody asked them to be part of Nigeria, that British just joined them to people who have different culture and religion that have nothing to do with them and that these people had started talking about independence. This was in a speech he made at the legislative council in Lagos. He made a similar statement when Enahoro moved for independence and when they came out, Lagos crowd booed the northerners for not allowing independence to come before that of Ghana. They got annoyed and went home and said they were not coming back to Lagos for any conference.
A lot has happened in this country that the young generation don’t know. The root of this is captured in one of my books, “Federalism and Nation Building in Nigeria, 1946 to 1964.” British people were in a hurry to decolonise because the United Nations was saying that it was immoral to have colony; so they started putting together all the territories to give them independence. They created the West Indies Federation, it failed; they created the East Africa Federation, it failed; they created Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland; it failed. The only federation they created then that has not failed is Nigeria, which is bound to fail if we don’t sit down and talk and that is why when Biafra declared independence, British fought tooth and nail to make sure Nigeria didn’t fail because they hold it as the only success they have in the British Empire. They also created the Federation of Malaysia and Singapore; it failed. The time that Biafra was pulling out was also when Singapore was pulling out of the Federation of Malay, Singapore and North Borneo. Those were federations British put together. They were writing theories about federation government. Did it work? By 1964 that was when Singapore pulled out and then it remained North Borneo and Malaysia, later on they themselves pulled out.
East Africa dissolved into Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Federation of Rhodesia, Nyasaland dissolved into Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe. All the white people they were protecting concentrated in Zimbabwe. Left to me, Nigeria federation should fail and then you see development. It doesn’t mean we won’t have problems, but not the kind of problem we have now. Example, there is no way we live under Sharia. People that have not studied militant Islam don’t know Boko Haram and all these cosmetics that we are doing. Read books on militant Islam. Their aim is to have a government that is headed by a Muslim. They cannot live under a government that is not headed by a Muslim. Go and read carefully what the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) said. They are all sympathetic to the Islamic sect; if they succeed they would applaud them.
"I Will Not Back Away From What I Wrote" - Iyabo Obasanjo
According to reports, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo has finally admitted to
being the author of the infamous 11-page letter to her father, former
president Olusegun Obasanjo.She reportedly spoke to Vanguard yesterday
about claimsthat the letter was not written by her.When asked if it was
true she never wrote the letter, she says:"No, no, no, that is not true.
Howcan you live by social media? Thatis part of the problem with
Nigeria, people want to be flying rumours. I have not told anybodyo! It
is early morning here and I just woke up and if I were you I would just
ignore them," Senator Obasanjo said."People are calling me and tellingme
that they called Baba but if I say I am not talking to someone (her
father), how can you say youcalled the person and the personwill tell
you what is on my mind?"she asked.Giving reasons on why she broke off,
she said that after a break from relating with Obasanjo, she found out
days ago that her father would not change from the manipulative person
she had known all along."The whole of last year I didn't speak to him
and I just started speaking to him recently, and thelast time he was
trying to manipulate me to say, this, say that. I can't be saying no
when you say no."The last time I spoke to him was three days ago and I
decided thatI was not going to speak to him again after that. That was
the communication through which I realized that this man would never
change from manipulations for himself."Dismissing her unsolicited
canvassers on social media, she said:"I was surprised that they would
say that they called Baba, and I said to myself, are these people mad?
How can you call the person that I said I am not talking to, to ask him
whether I wrote a letter or not and he is going to speak for me?"Nobody
can say that I told him that I didn't write it. I am not a liar. I will
not back away from what I wrote and there is nothingthat is there that
is a lie. In the last four years how many of themhave spoken to me? They
are all mad people," she said
MASSOB Warn Kidnappers To Stay Away From South-East
The Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB,
has issued a stern warning to kidnappers and armed robbers to steer
clear of the South East region during the yuletide season or face its
wrath.
MASSOB National Director of Information, Comrade Uchenna Madu in a statement in Onitsha, Anambra State, said the group would ensure that the South East remains crime-free during Christmas and New Year celebrations.
MASSOB stressed that it has successfully mobilized its members to partner with other security outfits to maintain law and order, especially in Onitsha, Aba, Owerri, Abakiliki, Port-Harcourt, Enugu, Umuahia, Awka, Asaba, Okigwe, and Afikpo.
The group also warned other criminals, touts and area boys parading themselves as government agencies to stay clear of public roads and places.
While assuring Ndigbo and other easterners in general of the security of their lives, properties and other investment in the festive period, MASSOB lamented that South-easterners residing outside the region no longer look forward to coming home during Christmas and New Year due to the activities of criminals.
It said: “The Nigeria mentality portrays Igboland as the den of kidnappers, arm robbery and uncomfortably in our people who reside outsides Igboland.
“Categorically, MASSOB wishes to inform Ndigbo that such wicked impression is to tarnish the industrious image of Igboman, to persuade our people to hate their land and their native villages
“The Northern part of Nigeria is full of terrorism and bloodshed as a result of Boko Haram and Islamic fundamentalist activities, while other areas are engaged in defiling, inc*st and other crime,” MASSOB said.
MASSOB National Director of Information, Comrade Uchenna Madu in a statement in Onitsha, Anambra State, said the group would ensure that the South East remains crime-free during Christmas and New Year celebrations.
MASSOB stressed that it has successfully mobilized its members to partner with other security outfits to maintain law and order, especially in Onitsha, Aba, Owerri, Abakiliki, Port-Harcourt, Enugu, Umuahia, Awka, Asaba, Okigwe, and Afikpo.
The group also warned other criminals, touts and area boys parading themselves as government agencies to stay clear of public roads and places.
While assuring Ndigbo and other easterners in general of the security of their lives, properties and other investment in the festive period, MASSOB lamented that South-easterners residing outside the region no longer look forward to coming home during Christmas and New Year due to the activities of criminals.
It said: “The Nigeria mentality portrays Igboland as the den of kidnappers, arm robbery and uncomfortably in our people who reside outsides Igboland.
“Categorically, MASSOB wishes to inform Ndigbo that such wicked impression is to tarnish the industrious image of Igboman, to persuade our people to hate their land and their native villages
“The Northern part of Nigeria is full of terrorism and bloodshed as a result of Boko Haram and Islamic fundamentalist activities, while other areas are engaged in defiling, inc*st and other crime,” MASSOB said.
Okonjo Iweala Submits 2014 Budget, APC Members chant slogans.
However, when the minister arrived the house of representative and was invited by the speaker to lay the house. She was met with shouts of "APC...APC..APC" by members of the opposition, apparently making clear their ownership of the chamber due to their new found majority. Members of the PDP responded by shouting PDP too. The minister then went on to shake hands with the PDP house leaders prompting APC members to demand she shakes their leaders too. She did. Prompting more chants of "APC" from the opposition and return chants of "PDP" by it's members. The minister left the chamber in noise and rival chants. This might have been the reason the president declined presenting the budget himself, and nigerians are beginning to see the consequences for the first time in our democracy of divided government.
‘I don’t steal, I only give robbers information’ - Nonso
A 28-year-old man, Nonso Egbuzobi, who was recently
arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad during a
robbery operation in Lagos State, has pleaded with the police to release
him, saying he was just an informant and not a member of any robbery
gang.
Police authorities had said Egbuzobi and three others were part of a gang that killed three policemen during an ATM robbery at an Access Bank branch in Ayobo, Ipaja area of the state on November 20, 2013.
It was learnt that after the Ipaja robbery, SARS men led by the officer in charge, SP Abba Kyari, commenced investigations.
It was learnt that the suspect was arrested with one Ak-47 rifle while attempting to rob a house at the Ilasamaja area of the state.
He said, “Some weeks ago, I was at a snooker joint around Lagos State University when a man approached me saying he had a target that we could rob at Ilasamaja. I told him I was not a robber, but I knew people who were capable.
“I approached one armed robber known as Fine money and I connected him with the person that gave me information. On December 4, 2013, Fine money picked me up in a jeep around Mile 2 and I led him and two other guys to the house at Ilasamaja. We were told that the victim had N10m in his house.
“They all had guns, but I decided that I would remain in the car. However, before they could come down, policemen started shooting at us and everyone in the vehicle died except me because I hid on the floor of the car.
“Like I said, I did not rob, I only gave the robbers information that they needed. I am a responsible man and even a footballer at Lagos State University, it was poverty that pushed me to become armed robbers’ informant.”
Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, said when he received information about the robbery, he ordered his men to foil the attempt and the policemen engaged the robbers in a gun duel during which two robbers, Daniel Onuoha, and Eyo Bassey, a dismissed soldier, were killed.
Manko said investigations led policemen to the agent who helped the robbers to secure accommodation and after their house was searched, four AK-47 rifles, which belonged to slain policemen, were recovered, while the agent was also killed while attempting to escape.
He said a police walkie-talkie was also recovered adding that it was with the aid of the walkie-talkie that the robbers were able to monitor police movement.
He said, “Weeks after the ATM robbery at Ipaja, I got a tip-off that the same robbers were planning to attack at Ilasamaja and I informed the OC SARS. He led his men to the scene and there was an exchange of gunfire with the robbers on Akawo Street. Two of the robbers were killed while Egbuzobi survived.
“One AK-47 rifle, 11 AK-47 magazines fully loaded, one liberty jeep with plate number, LH124EKY and three Nokia phones were recovered from them. Investigations led policemen to the house agent of the robbers and he led us to the home of one of the robbers which happens to be their operational base. Four AK-47 rifles, one police walkie-talkie, Nigerian Army uniform, 19 AK-47 rifles, fully loaded, 300 rounds of AK-47 live ammunitions were recovered.
“The agent attempted to escape through the roof but he was killed. Among the five Ak-47 rifles recovered, four belonged to policemen killed in various robberies across the state.”
Police authorities had said Egbuzobi and three others were part of a gang that killed three policemen during an ATM robbery at an Access Bank branch in Ayobo, Ipaja area of the state on November 20, 2013.
It was learnt that after the Ipaja robbery, SARS men led by the officer in charge, SP Abba Kyari, commenced investigations.
It was learnt that the suspect was arrested with one Ak-47 rifle while attempting to rob a house at the Ilasamaja area of the state.
He said, “Some weeks ago, I was at a snooker joint around Lagos State University when a man approached me saying he had a target that we could rob at Ilasamaja. I told him I was not a robber, but I knew people who were capable.
“I approached one armed robber known as Fine money and I connected him with the person that gave me information. On December 4, 2013, Fine money picked me up in a jeep around Mile 2 and I led him and two other guys to the house at Ilasamaja. We were told that the victim had N10m in his house.
“They all had guns, but I decided that I would remain in the car. However, before they could come down, policemen started shooting at us and everyone in the vehicle died except me because I hid on the floor of the car.
“Like I said, I did not rob, I only gave the robbers information that they needed. I am a responsible man and even a footballer at Lagos State University, it was poverty that pushed me to become armed robbers’ informant.”
Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, said when he received information about the robbery, he ordered his men to foil the attempt and the policemen engaged the robbers in a gun duel during which two robbers, Daniel Onuoha, and Eyo Bassey, a dismissed soldier, were killed.
Manko said investigations led policemen to the agent who helped the robbers to secure accommodation and after their house was searched, four AK-47 rifles, which belonged to slain policemen, were recovered, while the agent was also killed while attempting to escape.
He said a police walkie-talkie was also recovered adding that it was with the aid of the walkie-talkie that the robbers were able to monitor police movement.
He said, “Weeks after the ATM robbery at Ipaja, I got a tip-off that the same robbers were planning to attack at Ilasamaja and I informed the OC SARS. He led his men to the scene and there was an exchange of gunfire with the robbers on Akawo Street. Two of the robbers were killed while Egbuzobi survived.
“One AK-47 rifle, 11 AK-47 magazines fully loaded, one liberty jeep with plate number, LH124EKY and three Nokia phones were recovered from them. Investigations led policemen to the house agent of the robbers and he led us to the home of one of the robbers which happens to be their operational base. Four AK-47 rifles, one police walkie-talkie, Nigerian Army uniform, 19 AK-47 rifles, fully loaded, 300 rounds of AK-47 live ammunitions were recovered.
“The agent attempted to escape through the roof but he was killed. Among the five Ak-47 rifles recovered, four belonged to policemen killed in various robberies across the state.”
APC Will Meet Obasanjo Soon
The leadership of the All Progressives Congress is to meet with former President Olusegun Obasanjo to
explain the reason behind the formation of the party.
A former Head of State and a chief of the party, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, said this in an interview with
journalists at the residence of a former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Buhari said the leadership of APC had been visiting other notable Nigerians and that it was time to also
pay a visit to Obasanjo.
He said, “We have been visiting others like the G7 Governors; we have visited former heads of state, and
we intend to visit former President Olusegun Obasanjo any time he is available, to ask for understanding
and brief him on why we formed the APC.”
He said that he was happy with the discussion the leadership of the party had with Abubakar, who he said
had promised to discuss with his supporters and political associates before taking a decision on whether
to defect from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to the APC or not.
“I think Atiku has spoken to you about what we discussed with him now, but he said he will get back to
us later,” Buhari added.
At a meeting, Abubakar told his guests that he would consult with stakeholders and consider the invitation
by the leaders of the party to join the party, just as he threw his weight behind a two-party system in the
country.
“I have given them an indication that I will call a meeting of all my supporters across the country and we
will take a decision and tell the press,” he said.
The leaders of the APC led by its Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, had visited the Abuja
residence of the Turakin Adamawa and asked him to defect to the APC.
Roll call of the delegation at the Wednesday’s meeting included, a former Governor of Lagos State,
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Ibrahim Shettima; a former Speaker of House of
Representatives, Bello Masari; Senator George Akume; former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode; a
Chief Ogbonnaya Onu; former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu
Ribadu; and Senator Kabiru Gaya.
Akande had earlier in his remark, said the party decided to meet with Atiku against the background that
“our country is being rubbished, we feel that it is necessary to meet people of like minds to rise up and
salvage the country.
“All of us that met here are comrades in politics from time to time. We only met today to cement that
comradeship, and all is well cemented and we are moving together to work for this country.”
Abubakar recalled that some of the members of the delegation that visited him had been together in
politics for about 24 years.
“It is time we realise we have a responsibility to our generation and those yet unborn,” he said.
He lauded the delegation for the formation of what he called “a long expected great party,” adding that the
APC had true internal democracy that would satisfy the yearnings and aspirations of its members.
Abubakar referred to the African National Congress in South Africa, reiterating that “as strong as the ANC
is, its internal democracy is unparallel. I have seen where there is healthy competition without bitterness.
“If the South Africans faced apartheid, Nigeria is facing colonialism, the struggle has been long for the
enthronement of democracy.”
explain the reason behind the formation of the party.
A former Head of State and a chief of the party, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, said this in an interview with
journalists at the residence of a former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Buhari said the leadership of APC had been visiting other notable Nigerians and that it was time to also
pay a visit to Obasanjo.
He said, “We have been visiting others like the G7 Governors; we have visited former heads of state, and
we intend to visit former President Olusegun Obasanjo any time he is available, to ask for understanding
and brief him on why we formed the APC.”
He said that he was happy with the discussion the leadership of the party had with Abubakar, who he said
had promised to discuss with his supporters and political associates before taking a decision on whether
to defect from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to the APC or not.
“I think Atiku has spoken to you about what we discussed with him now, but he said he will get back to
us later,” Buhari added.
At a meeting, Abubakar told his guests that he would consult with stakeholders and consider the invitation
by the leaders of the party to join the party, just as he threw his weight behind a two-party system in the
country.
“I have given them an indication that I will call a meeting of all my supporters across the country and we
will take a decision and tell the press,” he said.
The leaders of the APC led by its Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, had visited the Abuja
residence of the Turakin Adamawa and asked him to defect to the APC.
Roll call of the delegation at the Wednesday’s meeting included, a former Governor of Lagos State,
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Ibrahim Shettima; a former Speaker of House of
Representatives, Bello Masari; Senator George Akume; former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode; a
Chief Ogbonnaya Onu; former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu
Ribadu; and Senator Kabiru Gaya.
Akande had earlier in his remark, said the party decided to meet with Atiku against the background that
“our country is being rubbished, we feel that it is necessary to meet people of like minds to rise up and
salvage the country.
“All of us that met here are comrades in politics from time to time. We only met today to cement that
comradeship, and all is well cemented and we are moving together to work for this country.”
Abubakar recalled that some of the members of the delegation that visited him had been together in
politics for about 24 years.
“It is time we realise we have a responsibility to our generation and those yet unborn,” he said.
He lauded the delegation for the formation of what he called “a long expected great party,” adding that the
APC had true internal democracy that would satisfy the yearnings and aspirations of its members.
Abubakar referred to the African National Congress in South Africa, reiterating that “as strong as the ANC
is, its internal democracy is unparallel. I have seen where there is healthy competition without bitterness.
“If the South Africans faced apartheid, Nigeria is facing colonialism, the struggle has been long for the
enthronement of democracy.”
Iyabo Obasanjo's Letter To Her Father
It brings me no joy to have to write this but since you started this
trend of open letters I thought I would follow suit since you don’t
listen to anyone anyway. The only way to reach you may be to make the
public aware of some things. As a child well brought up by my
long-suffering mother in Yoruba tradition, I have been reluctant to tell
the truth about you but as it seems you still continue to delude
yourself about the kind of person you are and I think for posterity’s
sake it is time to set the records straight.
I will return to the issue of my long-suffering mother later in this letter.
Like most Nigerians, I believe there are very enormous issues currently plaguing the country but I was surely surprised that you will be the one to publish such a treatise. I remember clearly as if it was yesterday the day I came over to Abuja from Abeokuta when I was Commissioner of Health in OgunState, specifically to ask you not to continue to pursue the third term issue.
I had tried to bring it up when your sycophantic aides were present and they brushed my comments aside and as usual you listened to their self-serving counsel. For you to accuse someone else of what you so obviously practiced yourself tells of your narcissistic megalomaniac personality. Everyone around for even a few minutes knows that the only thing you respond to is praise and worship of you. People have learnt how to manipulate you by giving you what you crave. The only ones that can’t and will not stroke your ego are family members who you universally treat like poo (sic) apart from the few who have learned to manipulate you like others.
Before I continue, Nigerians are people who see conspiracy and self-service in everything because I think they believe everyone is like them. This letter is not in support of President Jonathan or APC or any other group or person, but an outpouring from my soul to God. I don’t blame you for the many atrocities you have been able to get away with, Nigerians were your enablers every step of the way. People ultimately get leaders that reflect them.
Getting back to the story, I made sure your aides were not around and brought up the issue, trying to deliver the presentation of the issue as I had practiced it in my head. I started with the fact that we copied the US constitution which has term limits of two terms for a President. As is your usual manner, you didn’t allow me to finish my thought process and listen to my point of view. Once I broached the subject you sat up and said that the US had no term limits in the past but that it had been introduced in the 1940s after the death of President Roosevelt, which is true.
I wanted to say to you: when you copy something you also copy the modifications based on the learning from the original; only a fool starts from scratch and does not base his decisions on the learning of others. In science, we use the modifications found by others long ago to the most recent, as the basis of new findings; not going back to discover and learn what others have learnt. Human knowledge and development and civilization will not have progressed if each new generation and society did not build on the knowledge of others before them.
The American constitution itself is based on several theories and philosophies of governance available in the 18th century. Democracy itself is a governance method started by the ancient Greeks. America’s founding fathers used it with modifications based on what hadn’t worked well for the ancient Greeks and on new theories since then.
As usual in our conversations, I kept quiet because I know you well. You weren’t going to change your mind based on my intervention as you had already made up your mind on the persuasion of the minions working for you who were ripping the country blind. When I spoke to you, your outward attitude to the people of the country was that you were not interested in the third term and that it was others pushing it. Your statement to me that day proved to me that you were the brain behind the third term debacle. It is therefore outrageous that you accuse the current President of a similar two-facedness that you yourself used against the people of the country.
I was on a plane trip between Abuja and Lagos around the time of the third term issue and I sat next to one of your sycophants on the plane. He told me: “Only Obasanjo can rule Nigeria”. I replied: “God has not created a country where only one person can rule. If only one person can rule Nigeria then the whole Nigeria project is not a viable one, as it will be a non-sustainable project”
I don’t know how you came about Yar’Adua as the candidate for your party as it was not my priority or job. Unlike you, I focus on the issues I have been given responsibility over and not on the jobs of others. It was the day of the PDP Presidential Campaign in Abeokuta during the state-by-state tour of 2007 that Yar’Adua got sick and had to be flown abroad. The MKO Abiola Stadium was already filled with people by 9am when I drove by (and) we had told people based on the campaign schedule that the rally would start at noon.
At 11 am I headed for the stadium on foot; it was a short walk as there were so many cars already parked in and out. As I walked on with two other people, we saw crowds of people leaving the stadium. I recognized some of them as politicians and I asked them why people were leaving. They said the Presidential candidate had died. I was alarmed and shocked. I walked back home and received a call from a friend in Lagos who said the same and added that he had died in the plane carrying him abroad for treatment and that the plane was on its way to Katsina to bury him.
I called you, and told you the information and that the stadium was already half-empty. You told me to go to the stadium and tell the people on the podium to announce that the Presidential candidate had taken ill that morning but the rest of the team, including you and the Vice-Presidential candidate would arrive shortly. I did as I was told, but even the people on the podium at first didn’t make the announcement because they thought it was true that Yar’Adua had died. I had to take the microphone and make the announcement myself. It did little good. People kept trooping out of the stadium. Your team didn’t arrive until 4pm and by this time we had just a sprinkling of people left.
That evening after the disaster of a rally, you said you had insisted that the Presidential candidate fly to Germany for a check-up although you said he only had a cold. I asked why would anyone fly to Germany to treat a cold? And you said “I would rather die than have the man die at this time.” I thought of this profound statement as things later unfolded against me. Then I thought it a silly statement but as usual I kept quiet, little did I know how your machinations for a person would be used against me. When Yar’Adua eventually died, you stayed alive, I would have expected you to jump into his grave.
I left Nigeria in 1989 right after youth service to study in the US and I visited in 1994 for a week and didn’t visit again until your inauguration in 1999. In between, you had been arrested by Abacha and jailed. We, your children, had no one who stood with us. Stella famously went around collecting money on your behalf but we had no one. We survived. I was the only one of the children working then as a post-doctoral fellow when I got the call from a friend informing me of your arrest.
A week before your arrest, you had called me from Denmark and I had told you that you should be careful that the government was very offended by some of your statements and actions and may be planning to arrest or kill you as was occurring to many at the time. The source of my information was my mother who, agitated, had called me, saying I should warn you as this was the rumour in the country. As usual you brushed aside my comments, shouting on the phone that they cannot try anything and you will do and say as you please. The consequence of your bravado is history.
We, your family, have borne the brunt of your direct cruelty and also suffered the consequences of your stupidity but got none of the benefits of your successes. Of course, anyone around you knows how little respect you have for your children.
You think our existence on earth is about you. By the way, how many are we? 19, 20, 21? Do you even know? In the last five years, how many of these children have you spoken to? How many grandchildren do you have and when did you last see each of them? As President you would listen to advice of people that never finished high school who would say anything to keep having access to you so as to make money over your children who loved you and genuinely wished you well.
At your first inauguration in 1999, I and my brothers and sisters told you we were coming from the US. As is usual with you, you made no arrangements for our trip, instead our mom organized to meet each of us and provided accommodation. At the actual swearing-in at Eagle Square, the others decided to watch it on TV. Instead I went to the square and I was pushed and tossed by the crowd.
I managed to get in front of the crowd where I waved and shouted at you as you and General Abdulsalam Abubakar walked past to go back to the VIP seating area. I saw you mouth ‘my daughter’ to General Abdullahi who was the one who pulled me out of the crowd and gave me a seat. As I looked around I saw Stella and Stella’s family prominently seated but none of your children. I am sure General Abdullahi would remember this incident and I am eternally grateful to him.Getting back to my mother, I still remember your beating her up continually when we were kids. What kids can forget that kind of violence against their mother? Your maltreatment of women is legendary. Many of your women have come out to denounce you in public but since your madness is also part of the madness of the society, it is the women that are usually ignored and mistreated. Of course, you are the great pretender, making people believe you have a good family life and a good relationship with your children but once in a while your pretence gets cracked.
When Gbenga gave a ride to help someone he didn’t know but saw was in need and the person betrayed his trust by tapping his candid response on the issues going on between you and your then vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, you had your aides go on air and denounce the boy before you even spoke to him to find out what happened. What kind of father does that? Your atrocities to some of my other siblings I will let them tell in their own due time or never if they choose.
Some of the details of our life are public but the people choose to ignore it and pretended we enjoyed some largesse when you were President.
This punishing the innocent is part of Nigeria’s continuing sins against God. While you were military head of state and lived in Dodan Barracks, we stayed either with our mum in the two-bedroom apartment provided for her by General Murtala Mohammed or with your relatives, Bose, Yemisi and your sisters’ kids in the Boys Quarters of Dodan Barracks. At QueensCollege, I remember being too ashamed to tell my wealthy classmates from Queen’s College, Lagos we lived in the two room Boys Quarters or in the two room flat on Lawrence Street.
No, we did not have privileged upbringing but our mother emphasized education and that has been our salvation. Of my mother’s 6 children 4 have PhDs. Of the two without PhD, one has a Master’s and the other is an engineer. They are no slouches. Education provided a way to make our way in the world.
You are one of those petty people who think the progress and success of another takes from you. You try to overshadow everyone around you, before you and after you. You are the prototypical “Mr. Know it all”. You’ve never said “I don’t know” on any topic, ever. Of course this means you surround yourself with idiots who will agree with you on anything and need you for financial gain and you need them for your insatiable ego. This your attitude is a reflection of the country. It is not certain which came first, your attitude seeping into the country’s psyche or the country accepting your irresponsible behavior for so long.
Like you and your minions, it’s a symbiotic relationship. Nigeria has descended into a hellish reality where smart, capable people to “survive” and have their daily bread prostrate to imbeciles. Everybody trying to pull everybody else down with greed and selfishness — the only traits that gets you anywhere. Money must be had and money and power is king. Even the supposed down-trodden agree with this.
Nigeria accused me of fraud with the Ministry of Health. As you yourself know, both in Abeokuta and Abuja I lived in your houses as a Senator. In Lagos, I stayed in my mum’s bungalow which she succeeded in getting from you when you abandoned her with six children to live in Abeokuta with Stella.
I borrowed against my four-year Senate salary to build the only house I have anywhere in the world in Lagos. I rent out the house for income. I don’t have much in terms of money but I am extremely happy. I tried to contribute my part to the development of my country but the country decided it didn’t need me. Like many educated Nigerians my age, there are countries that actually value people doing their best to contribute to society and as many of them have scattered all over the world so have many of your children.
I can speak for myself and many of them; what they are running away from is that they can’t even contribute effectively at the same time as they have to deal with constant threats to their lives by miscreants the society failed to educate; deal with lack of electricity and air pollution resulting from each household generating its own electricity, and the lack of quality healthcare or education and a total lack of sense of responsibility of almost every person you meet. Your contribution to this scenario cannot be overestimated.
You and your cronies mentioned in your letter have left the country worse than you met it at your births in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Nigeria is not the creation of any of you, and although you feel you own it and are “Mr Nigeria” deciding whether the country stays together or not, and who rules it; you don’t. Nigeria is solely the creation of the British. My dear gone Grandmother whose burial you told people not to attend, was not born a Nigerian but a proud Ijebu-Yoruba woman. Togetherness is a choice and it must serve a purpose.
As for Nigerians thinking I have their money, when it was obvious I was part of the Yar’Adua (government’s) anti-Obasanjo phenomenon that was going on at the time. The Ministry of Health and international NGOs paid for a retreat for the Senate Committee on Health. The House Committee on Health was treated exactly the same way. The monies were given to members as estacode and the rest used for accommodation, flights and feeding. While the Senate was on the retreat in Ghana, the EFCC asked the House Committee to return the monies they received for their retreat and asked us in the Senate to return ours on our return which I refused, as it was already used for the purpose it was earmarked for in the budget that year which was to work on the National Health Bill.
The House Committee had not gone on their retreat. I did nothing wrong and my colleagues and I on the retreat did our work conscientiously. I asked the EFCC not to drag my colleagues into it and I am proud I suffered alone. As is usual in a society where people who are not progressive but take pleasure in the pain of others, most Nigerians were happy, not looking at the facts of the matter, just the suffering of an Obasanjo.
As the people that stole their millions are hailed by them the innocent is punished. When the court case was thrown out because it lacked merit even against the Minister, no newspaper carried the news. The wrongful malicious prosecution of an Obasanjo was not something they wanted to report; just her downfall. But it really wasn’t about me, it was about right and wrong in society and every society gets the fruit of the seeds it sows.
How do you think God will provide good leaders to such a people? God helps those who help themselves. I have realized that as an Obasanjo I am not entitled to work in Nigeria in any capacity. I am not entitled to work in health which is my training, or in any field or anywhere in the country or participate in any business. I have learnt this lesson well and there are societies that actually think capable, well-educated people are important to their society’s progress. Apparently, unless I am eating from the dustbin, Nigerians and possibly you will not be satisfied. I thank God it has not come to that based on God-given brains and brawn.
When I left Nigeria in 1989 for graduate studies in America, you promised to pay my school fees and no living expenses. This you did and I am grateful for because, working in the kitchen and then the library at University of California, Davis and later, working on the IT desk and later as a Teaching Assistant at Cornell gave me valuable work ethics for life. I wouldn’t have it any other way. As a black woman in the early 21st century, I have achieved much and done more than most. My wish is that black girls all over the world will have the capacity to create their lives, make mistakes, learn from it and move ahead.
Moving back to Nigeria, thinking I wanted to serve was obviously a grave mistake but one brought about by the tragic incident of April 20, 2003. This was the day five people were shot dead in my car. The mother of the children was an acquaintance I had met only one day before the incident.
We had attended the same high school and university but she was there ten years earlier than I. She had also studied public health in the UK as I had in the US. It was these coincidences that made us connect on our first meeting and then she decided to visit on the Saturday of the election of 2003 when the incident occurred. I am scarred for life by that incident and I know the mother was too as we both looked back to see two men on each side of my car shooting.
I understand her trauma and her behaviour since then can be judged from that. Nigeria is a nasty place that pushes people to lose their compass. I participated in the campaigns leading to the elections that day, more because this was my first experience of electoral process in Nigeria. Growing up there were no elections and I was too young in the 1979 and 1983 elections. It was interesting to see democracy at work. When Gbenga Daniel who I campaigned for offered me a job, I probably would have declined it, if not for the memory of the dead.
I felt I had to engage in making the country progress and to avoid such incidences in the future. I don’t need to tell you or anyone what kind of governor and person Gbenga Daniel is. As usual when I found out, you would not listen to my opinion but found out for yourself. I also campaigned for Amosun for the Senate in 2003. I have had some wonderful Nigerians do good to me, I will never forget the then Minister of Women Affairs, who saw me talking in the crowd at a campaign event and was alarmed and said “bad things can happen to you out there, I will give you one of the orderlies assigned to my office to follow you”. This was the police man that died in my car that day. I never really thought bad things would happen to me, I moved around freely in society until that shooting scarred me and I accepted a police detail. I was constantly scared for my life after that.
You called me after your vengeful letter as usual, looking out for yourself and thinking you will bribe me by saying the APC will use me for the Senate. Do you really know me and what I want out of life?
Anyone that knows me knows I am done with anything political or otherwise in Nigeria. I have so much to do and think to make this world a better place than to waste it on fighting with idiots over a political post that does no good to society. That letter you wrote to the President, would you have tolerated such a letter as a sitting President? Don’t do to others what you will not allow to be done to you. The only thing I was using that was yours was the house in Abuja where I left my things when I left the country. I eventually rented it out so that the place would not fall apart but as usual you want to take that as well. You can’t have it without explaining to Nigerians how you came about the house?
As I said earlier, this is not about politics but my frustration with you as a father and a human being. I am not involved with what is currently going on in Nigeria, I don’t talk to any Nigerian other than friends on social basis. I am not involved with any political groups or affiliation. You mentioned Governor Osoba when you spoke to me, yes I was walking down the street of Cambridge, Massachussets a few months ago, when I looked up and saw him reading a map trying to cross the street.
I greeted him warmly and offered to give him a ride to where he was going. This I did not do because I wanted anything from him politically but because that is how I was raised by my mother to treat an adult who I really had no ill-will towards. Some said he was part of the people that manipulated the elections for me to lose in 2011. I don’t have any ill-will to him for that because I think they did me a favour and someone has to win and lose.
I had told you I wasn’t going to run in 2011 but you manipulated me to run; that was my mistake. Losing was a blessing. As usual you wanted me to run for your self-serving purpose to perpetuate your name in the political realm and as the liar that you are, you later denied that it was you who wanted me to run in 2011.
In 2003 I ran because I wanted to and I thought getting to the central government I will be able to contribute more to improving lives and working on legislation that impacts the country. I found that nothing gets done; every public official in Nigeria is working for himself and no one really is serving the public or the country.
The whole system, including the public themselves want oppressors, not people working for their collective progress. When no one is planning the future of a country, such a country can have no future. I won’t be your legacy, let your legacy be Nigeria in the fractured state you created because, it was always your way or the highway.
This is the end of my communication with you for life. I pray Nigeria survives your continual intervention in its affairs.
Sincerely,
Iyabo Obasanjo, DVM, PhD
Massachusetts,
USA.
I will return to the issue of my long-suffering mother later in this letter.
Like most Nigerians, I believe there are very enormous issues currently plaguing the country but I was surely surprised that you will be the one to publish such a treatise. I remember clearly as if it was yesterday the day I came over to Abuja from Abeokuta when I was Commissioner of Health in OgunState, specifically to ask you not to continue to pursue the third term issue.
I had tried to bring it up when your sycophantic aides were present and they brushed my comments aside and as usual you listened to their self-serving counsel. For you to accuse someone else of what you so obviously practiced yourself tells of your narcissistic megalomaniac personality. Everyone around for even a few minutes knows that the only thing you respond to is praise and worship of you. People have learnt how to manipulate you by giving you what you crave. The only ones that can’t and will not stroke your ego are family members who you universally treat like poo (sic) apart from the few who have learned to manipulate you like others.
Before I continue, Nigerians are people who see conspiracy and self-service in everything because I think they believe everyone is like them. This letter is not in support of President Jonathan or APC or any other group or person, but an outpouring from my soul to God. I don’t blame you for the many atrocities you have been able to get away with, Nigerians were your enablers every step of the way. People ultimately get leaders that reflect them.
Getting back to the story, I made sure your aides were not around and brought up the issue, trying to deliver the presentation of the issue as I had practiced it in my head. I started with the fact that we copied the US constitution which has term limits of two terms for a President. As is your usual manner, you didn’t allow me to finish my thought process and listen to my point of view. Once I broached the subject you sat up and said that the US had no term limits in the past but that it had been introduced in the 1940s after the death of President Roosevelt, which is true.
I wanted to say to you: when you copy something you also copy the modifications based on the learning from the original; only a fool starts from scratch and does not base his decisions on the learning of others. In science, we use the modifications found by others long ago to the most recent, as the basis of new findings; not going back to discover and learn what others have learnt. Human knowledge and development and civilization will not have progressed if each new generation and society did not build on the knowledge of others before them.
The American constitution itself is based on several theories and philosophies of governance available in the 18th century. Democracy itself is a governance method started by the ancient Greeks. America’s founding fathers used it with modifications based on what hadn’t worked well for the ancient Greeks and on new theories since then.
As usual in our conversations, I kept quiet because I know you well. You weren’t going to change your mind based on my intervention as you had already made up your mind on the persuasion of the minions working for you who were ripping the country blind. When I spoke to you, your outward attitude to the people of the country was that you were not interested in the third term and that it was others pushing it. Your statement to me that day proved to me that you were the brain behind the third term debacle. It is therefore outrageous that you accuse the current President of a similar two-facedness that you yourself used against the people of the country.
I was on a plane trip between Abuja and Lagos around the time of the third term issue and I sat next to one of your sycophants on the plane. He told me: “Only Obasanjo can rule Nigeria”. I replied: “God has not created a country where only one person can rule. If only one person can rule Nigeria then the whole Nigeria project is not a viable one, as it will be a non-sustainable project”
I don’t know how you came about Yar’Adua as the candidate for your party as it was not my priority or job. Unlike you, I focus on the issues I have been given responsibility over and not on the jobs of others. It was the day of the PDP Presidential Campaign in Abeokuta during the state-by-state tour of 2007 that Yar’Adua got sick and had to be flown abroad. The MKO Abiola Stadium was already filled with people by 9am when I drove by (and) we had told people based on the campaign schedule that the rally would start at noon.
At 11 am I headed for the stadium on foot; it was a short walk as there were so many cars already parked in and out. As I walked on with two other people, we saw crowds of people leaving the stadium. I recognized some of them as politicians and I asked them why people were leaving. They said the Presidential candidate had died. I was alarmed and shocked. I walked back home and received a call from a friend in Lagos who said the same and added that he had died in the plane carrying him abroad for treatment and that the plane was on its way to Katsina to bury him.
I called you, and told you the information and that the stadium was already half-empty. You told me to go to the stadium and tell the people on the podium to announce that the Presidential candidate had taken ill that morning but the rest of the team, including you and the Vice-Presidential candidate would arrive shortly. I did as I was told, but even the people on the podium at first didn’t make the announcement because they thought it was true that Yar’Adua had died. I had to take the microphone and make the announcement myself. It did little good. People kept trooping out of the stadium. Your team didn’t arrive until 4pm and by this time we had just a sprinkling of people left.
That evening after the disaster of a rally, you said you had insisted that the Presidential candidate fly to Germany for a check-up although you said he only had a cold. I asked why would anyone fly to Germany to treat a cold? And you said “I would rather die than have the man die at this time.” I thought of this profound statement as things later unfolded against me. Then I thought it a silly statement but as usual I kept quiet, little did I know how your machinations for a person would be used against me. When Yar’Adua eventually died, you stayed alive, I would have expected you to jump into his grave.
I left Nigeria in 1989 right after youth service to study in the US and I visited in 1994 for a week and didn’t visit again until your inauguration in 1999. In between, you had been arrested by Abacha and jailed. We, your children, had no one who stood with us. Stella famously went around collecting money on your behalf but we had no one. We survived. I was the only one of the children working then as a post-doctoral fellow when I got the call from a friend informing me of your arrest.
A week before your arrest, you had called me from Denmark and I had told you that you should be careful that the government was very offended by some of your statements and actions and may be planning to arrest or kill you as was occurring to many at the time. The source of my information was my mother who, agitated, had called me, saying I should warn you as this was the rumour in the country. As usual you brushed aside my comments, shouting on the phone that they cannot try anything and you will do and say as you please. The consequence of your bravado is history.
We, your family, have borne the brunt of your direct cruelty and also suffered the consequences of your stupidity but got none of the benefits of your successes. Of course, anyone around you knows how little respect you have for your children.
You think our existence on earth is about you. By the way, how many are we? 19, 20, 21? Do you even know? In the last five years, how many of these children have you spoken to? How many grandchildren do you have and when did you last see each of them? As President you would listen to advice of people that never finished high school who would say anything to keep having access to you so as to make money over your children who loved you and genuinely wished you well.
At your first inauguration in 1999, I and my brothers and sisters told you we were coming from the US. As is usual with you, you made no arrangements for our trip, instead our mom organized to meet each of us and provided accommodation. At the actual swearing-in at Eagle Square, the others decided to watch it on TV. Instead I went to the square and I was pushed and tossed by the crowd.
I managed to get in front of the crowd where I waved and shouted at you as you and General Abdulsalam Abubakar walked past to go back to the VIP seating area. I saw you mouth ‘my daughter’ to General Abdullahi who was the one who pulled me out of the crowd and gave me a seat. As I looked around I saw Stella and Stella’s family prominently seated but none of your children. I am sure General Abdullahi would remember this incident and I am eternally grateful to him.Getting back to my mother, I still remember your beating her up continually when we were kids. What kids can forget that kind of violence against their mother? Your maltreatment of women is legendary. Many of your women have come out to denounce you in public but since your madness is also part of the madness of the society, it is the women that are usually ignored and mistreated. Of course, you are the great pretender, making people believe you have a good family life and a good relationship with your children but once in a while your pretence gets cracked.
When Gbenga gave a ride to help someone he didn’t know but saw was in need and the person betrayed his trust by tapping his candid response on the issues going on between you and your then vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, you had your aides go on air and denounce the boy before you even spoke to him to find out what happened. What kind of father does that? Your atrocities to some of my other siblings I will let them tell in their own due time or never if they choose.
Some of the details of our life are public but the people choose to ignore it and pretended we enjoyed some largesse when you were President.
This punishing the innocent is part of Nigeria’s continuing sins against God. While you were military head of state and lived in Dodan Barracks, we stayed either with our mum in the two-bedroom apartment provided for her by General Murtala Mohammed or with your relatives, Bose, Yemisi and your sisters’ kids in the Boys Quarters of Dodan Barracks. At QueensCollege, I remember being too ashamed to tell my wealthy classmates from Queen’s College, Lagos we lived in the two room Boys Quarters or in the two room flat on Lawrence Street.
No, we did not have privileged upbringing but our mother emphasized education and that has been our salvation. Of my mother’s 6 children 4 have PhDs. Of the two without PhD, one has a Master’s and the other is an engineer. They are no slouches. Education provided a way to make our way in the world.
You are one of those petty people who think the progress and success of another takes from you. You try to overshadow everyone around you, before you and after you. You are the prototypical “Mr. Know it all”. You’ve never said “I don’t know” on any topic, ever. Of course this means you surround yourself with idiots who will agree with you on anything and need you for financial gain and you need them for your insatiable ego. This your attitude is a reflection of the country. It is not certain which came first, your attitude seeping into the country’s psyche or the country accepting your irresponsible behavior for so long.
Like you and your minions, it’s a symbiotic relationship. Nigeria has descended into a hellish reality where smart, capable people to “survive” and have their daily bread prostrate to imbeciles. Everybody trying to pull everybody else down with greed and selfishness — the only traits that gets you anywhere. Money must be had and money and power is king. Even the supposed down-trodden agree with this.
Nigeria accused me of fraud with the Ministry of Health. As you yourself know, both in Abeokuta and Abuja I lived in your houses as a Senator. In Lagos, I stayed in my mum’s bungalow which she succeeded in getting from you when you abandoned her with six children to live in Abeokuta with Stella.
I borrowed against my four-year Senate salary to build the only house I have anywhere in the world in Lagos. I rent out the house for income. I don’t have much in terms of money but I am extremely happy. I tried to contribute my part to the development of my country but the country decided it didn’t need me. Like many educated Nigerians my age, there are countries that actually value people doing their best to contribute to society and as many of them have scattered all over the world so have many of your children.
I can speak for myself and many of them; what they are running away from is that they can’t even contribute effectively at the same time as they have to deal with constant threats to their lives by miscreants the society failed to educate; deal with lack of electricity and air pollution resulting from each household generating its own electricity, and the lack of quality healthcare or education and a total lack of sense of responsibility of almost every person you meet. Your contribution to this scenario cannot be overestimated.
You and your cronies mentioned in your letter have left the country worse than you met it at your births in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Nigeria is not the creation of any of you, and although you feel you own it and are “Mr Nigeria” deciding whether the country stays together or not, and who rules it; you don’t. Nigeria is solely the creation of the British. My dear gone Grandmother whose burial you told people not to attend, was not born a Nigerian but a proud Ijebu-Yoruba woman. Togetherness is a choice and it must serve a purpose.
As for Nigerians thinking I have their money, when it was obvious I was part of the Yar’Adua (government’s) anti-Obasanjo phenomenon that was going on at the time. The Ministry of Health and international NGOs paid for a retreat for the Senate Committee on Health. The House Committee on Health was treated exactly the same way. The monies were given to members as estacode and the rest used for accommodation, flights and feeding. While the Senate was on the retreat in Ghana, the EFCC asked the House Committee to return the monies they received for their retreat and asked us in the Senate to return ours on our return which I refused, as it was already used for the purpose it was earmarked for in the budget that year which was to work on the National Health Bill.
The House Committee had not gone on their retreat. I did nothing wrong and my colleagues and I on the retreat did our work conscientiously. I asked the EFCC not to drag my colleagues into it and I am proud I suffered alone. As is usual in a society where people who are not progressive but take pleasure in the pain of others, most Nigerians were happy, not looking at the facts of the matter, just the suffering of an Obasanjo.
As the people that stole their millions are hailed by them the innocent is punished. When the court case was thrown out because it lacked merit even against the Minister, no newspaper carried the news. The wrongful malicious prosecution of an Obasanjo was not something they wanted to report; just her downfall. But it really wasn’t about me, it was about right and wrong in society and every society gets the fruit of the seeds it sows.
How do you think God will provide good leaders to such a people? God helps those who help themselves. I have realized that as an Obasanjo I am not entitled to work in Nigeria in any capacity. I am not entitled to work in health which is my training, or in any field or anywhere in the country or participate in any business. I have learnt this lesson well and there are societies that actually think capable, well-educated people are important to their society’s progress. Apparently, unless I am eating from the dustbin, Nigerians and possibly you will not be satisfied. I thank God it has not come to that based on God-given brains and brawn.
When I left Nigeria in 1989 for graduate studies in America, you promised to pay my school fees and no living expenses. This you did and I am grateful for because, working in the kitchen and then the library at University of California, Davis and later, working on the IT desk and later as a Teaching Assistant at Cornell gave me valuable work ethics for life. I wouldn’t have it any other way. As a black woman in the early 21st century, I have achieved much and done more than most. My wish is that black girls all over the world will have the capacity to create their lives, make mistakes, learn from it and move ahead.
Moving back to Nigeria, thinking I wanted to serve was obviously a grave mistake but one brought about by the tragic incident of April 20, 2003. This was the day five people were shot dead in my car. The mother of the children was an acquaintance I had met only one day before the incident.
We had attended the same high school and university but she was there ten years earlier than I. She had also studied public health in the UK as I had in the US. It was these coincidences that made us connect on our first meeting and then she decided to visit on the Saturday of the election of 2003 when the incident occurred. I am scarred for life by that incident and I know the mother was too as we both looked back to see two men on each side of my car shooting.
I understand her trauma and her behaviour since then can be judged from that. Nigeria is a nasty place that pushes people to lose their compass. I participated in the campaigns leading to the elections that day, more because this was my first experience of electoral process in Nigeria. Growing up there were no elections and I was too young in the 1979 and 1983 elections. It was interesting to see democracy at work. When Gbenga Daniel who I campaigned for offered me a job, I probably would have declined it, if not for the memory of the dead.
I felt I had to engage in making the country progress and to avoid such incidences in the future. I don’t need to tell you or anyone what kind of governor and person Gbenga Daniel is. As usual when I found out, you would not listen to my opinion but found out for yourself. I also campaigned for Amosun for the Senate in 2003. I have had some wonderful Nigerians do good to me, I will never forget the then Minister of Women Affairs, who saw me talking in the crowd at a campaign event and was alarmed and said “bad things can happen to you out there, I will give you one of the orderlies assigned to my office to follow you”. This was the police man that died in my car that day. I never really thought bad things would happen to me, I moved around freely in society until that shooting scarred me and I accepted a police detail. I was constantly scared for my life after that.
You called me after your vengeful letter as usual, looking out for yourself and thinking you will bribe me by saying the APC will use me for the Senate. Do you really know me and what I want out of life?
Anyone that knows me knows I am done with anything political or otherwise in Nigeria. I have so much to do and think to make this world a better place than to waste it on fighting with idiots over a political post that does no good to society. That letter you wrote to the President, would you have tolerated such a letter as a sitting President? Don’t do to others what you will not allow to be done to you. The only thing I was using that was yours was the house in Abuja where I left my things when I left the country. I eventually rented it out so that the place would not fall apart but as usual you want to take that as well. You can’t have it without explaining to Nigerians how you came about the house?
As I said earlier, this is not about politics but my frustration with you as a father and a human being. I am not involved with what is currently going on in Nigeria, I don’t talk to any Nigerian other than friends on social basis. I am not involved with any political groups or affiliation. You mentioned Governor Osoba when you spoke to me, yes I was walking down the street of Cambridge, Massachussets a few months ago, when I looked up and saw him reading a map trying to cross the street.
I greeted him warmly and offered to give him a ride to where he was going. This I did not do because I wanted anything from him politically but because that is how I was raised by my mother to treat an adult who I really had no ill-will towards. Some said he was part of the people that manipulated the elections for me to lose in 2011. I don’t have any ill-will to him for that because I think they did me a favour and someone has to win and lose.
I had told you I wasn’t going to run in 2011 but you manipulated me to run; that was my mistake. Losing was a blessing. As usual you wanted me to run for your self-serving purpose to perpetuate your name in the political realm and as the liar that you are, you later denied that it was you who wanted me to run in 2011.
In 2003 I ran because I wanted to and I thought getting to the central government I will be able to contribute more to improving lives and working on legislation that impacts the country. I found that nothing gets done; every public official in Nigeria is working for himself and no one really is serving the public or the country.
The whole system, including the public themselves want oppressors, not people working for their collective progress. When no one is planning the future of a country, such a country can have no future. I won’t be your legacy, let your legacy be Nigeria in the fractured state you created because, it was always your way or the highway.
This is the end of my communication with you for life. I pray Nigeria survives your continual intervention in its affairs.
Sincerely,
Iyabo Obasanjo, DVM, PhD
Massachusetts,
USA.
Genevieve Nnaji To Partner Kinabuti For A Clothing Line?
Although its still in the works but Actress Genevieve Nnaji is working on a new clothing line. The actress is said to partner with Kinabuti fashion label in lagos to launch a new clothing line. No words on the name of the clothing line as its still a secret.
Genevieve secretly visited Kinabuti office in lagos last week to talked about her fashion investment where she got to share some of her designs and also met the workers (tailors) at the company. Genevieve who also partnered with Kinabuti for the Orile Xmas Concert for kids and she also donated to Kinabuti foundation.
According to some sources, Genevieve's previous clothing line 'St Genevieve' flopped so badly that she had to quit but now she's back to make amends and go deep into the fashion world.
Congrats to her!
Tips To Avoid Bosom Sagging
A woman’s bosoms are truly a symbol of her beauty and femininity.
However, there are many natural and unnatural progressions of life that
can lead to sagging bosoms. Things like ageing, smoking, pregnancy, and
excessive exercise can steal away an important part of your beauty and
look. While you cannot battle against the natural causes, you can
prevent excessive and premature bosom sagging with the following tips:
#1. Wear a proper fitting bra
No other part of your body is as affected by gravity as your bosoms. One of the most common reasons for sagging bosoms is an ill-fitted bra. It is very crucial to pick a correct size bra, as it keeps the bosom in shape and enhances your overall appearance. While trying on a bra, make sure that your bosoms are not bouncy or spilling out. When the straps become lose, either tighten them or replace the brassiere. If you are not aware about your proper bra size, consult a professional and have your size properly measured.
#2. Massage
To keep your curvy bosoms in shape, apply some moisturiser daily. It will keep the skin supple and help your bosoms retain their elasticity. Also, gently massage your bosoms in a circular motion from upside down and vice versa. Do this for at least 10 minutes every day. This would help to increase blood circulation in the tissues, and would help in increasing the elasticity of your bosoms. You can use aloe vera gel, almond oil, or any other vegetable oil for the massage
#3. Healthy Diet
A healthy diet is very essential to your attempts to avoid bosom sagging. Your body needs balanced diet to build healthy cells, including the new bosom tissues. Vitamins are very important for your body. Vitamin E and D are very important for healthy skin. Along with this, include Omega-3 fatty acids in your diet to reduce risks of bosom cancer. Add a lot of green leafy vegetables, carrots, fishes, nuts, tomatoes, and whole grains, etc. in your diet.
#4. Steady weight
Maintain a stable weight by exercising regularly and eating a balanced diet. Weight fluctuations such as gaining and losing weight regularly can result in stretching out the skin tissues. This can affect the elasticity of the bosoms. Always stick to your recommended weight to avoid sagging of your bosoms along with many other health problems. Fluctuations in body weight can increase the tension on the connective tissues in the bosoms.
#5. Excessive exercise
Anything in excess is bad, and so is excessive exercising. Running in particular can take a toll on the elasticity of your bosoms. Women with larger size should be extra careful while exercising. The weight of larger bosoms can cause harm to ligaments and connective tissues. So, avoid jogging for extended periods of time and always wear a supportive and a comfortable sports bra while exercising. Having said that, a correct fitness routine can help you to keep your bosoms firm. Some pectoral workouts can help a lot, such as push-ups, chest presses, etc
#6. Water intake
Drink enough glasses of water every day to keep your body hydrated. Your skin tends to become wrinkled and saggy when it is dehydrated. So, keep your skin moist and hydrated to get rid of loose and saggy skin. Other than water, you can also rely on other liquids and citrus fruits to keep yourself hydrated.
What else?
Apart from these six there are many other ways to prevent sagging bosom:
Quit smoking and alcohol.
Practice correct posture while sitting and standing.
Get enough sleep.
Replace your old bras on time.
Always keep your bosom skin moisturised.
While, sagging bosoms can leave you worried and less confident, these simple tips can help you get healthy and perfect bosoms.
#1. Wear a proper fitting bra
No other part of your body is as affected by gravity as your bosoms. One of the most common reasons for sagging bosoms is an ill-fitted bra. It is very crucial to pick a correct size bra, as it keeps the bosom in shape and enhances your overall appearance. While trying on a bra, make sure that your bosoms are not bouncy or spilling out. When the straps become lose, either tighten them or replace the brassiere. If you are not aware about your proper bra size, consult a professional and have your size properly measured.
#2. Massage
To keep your curvy bosoms in shape, apply some moisturiser daily. It will keep the skin supple and help your bosoms retain their elasticity. Also, gently massage your bosoms in a circular motion from upside down and vice versa. Do this for at least 10 minutes every day. This would help to increase blood circulation in the tissues, and would help in increasing the elasticity of your bosoms. You can use aloe vera gel, almond oil, or any other vegetable oil for the massage
#3. Healthy Diet
A healthy diet is very essential to your attempts to avoid bosom sagging. Your body needs balanced diet to build healthy cells, including the new bosom tissues. Vitamins are very important for your body. Vitamin E and D are very important for healthy skin. Along with this, include Omega-3 fatty acids in your diet to reduce risks of bosom cancer. Add a lot of green leafy vegetables, carrots, fishes, nuts, tomatoes, and whole grains, etc. in your diet.
#4. Steady weight
Maintain a stable weight by exercising regularly and eating a balanced diet. Weight fluctuations such as gaining and losing weight regularly can result in stretching out the skin tissues. This can affect the elasticity of the bosoms. Always stick to your recommended weight to avoid sagging of your bosoms along with many other health problems. Fluctuations in body weight can increase the tension on the connective tissues in the bosoms.
#5. Excessive exercise
Anything in excess is bad, and so is excessive exercising. Running in particular can take a toll on the elasticity of your bosoms. Women with larger size should be extra careful while exercising. The weight of larger bosoms can cause harm to ligaments and connective tissues. So, avoid jogging for extended periods of time and always wear a supportive and a comfortable sports bra while exercising. Having said that, a correct fitness routine can help you to keep your bosoms firm. Some pectoral workouts can help a lot, such as push-ups, chest presses, etc
#6. Water intake
Drink enough glasses of water every day to keep your body hydrated. Your skin tends to become wrinkled and saggy when it is dehydrated. So, keep your skin moist and hydrated to get rid of loose and saggy skin. Other than water, you can also rely on other liquids and citrus fruits to keep yourself hydrated.
What else?
Apart from these six there are many other ways to prevent sagging bosom:
Quit smoking and alcohol.
Practice correct posture while sitting and standing.
Get enough sleep.
Replace your old bras on time.
Always keep your bosom skin moisturised.
While, sagging bosoms can leave you worried and less confident, these simple tips can help you get healthy and perfect bosoms.
China To Build Power Station In The Moon
China
on Saturday successfully carried out the world's first soft landing of a
space probe on the moon in nearly four decades, the next stage in an
ambitious space program that aims to eventually put a Chinese astronaut
on the moon.
The unmanned Chang'e 3 lander, named after a mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, touched down on Earth's nearest neighbor following a 12-minute landing process. The probe carried a six-wheeled moon rover called "Yutu," or "Jade Rabbit," the goddess' pet. After landing Saturday evening on a fairly flat, Earth-facing part of the moon, the rover was slated to separate from the Chang'e eight hours later and embark on a three-month scientific exploration. China's space program is an enormous source of pride for the country, the third to carry out a lunar soft landing — which does not damage the craft and the equipment it carries — after the United States and the former Soviet Union. The last one was by the Soviet Union in 1976. "It's still a significant technological challenge to land on another world," said Peter Bond, consultant editor for Jane's Space Systems and Industry. "Especially somewhere like the moon, which doesn't have an atmosphere so you can't use parachutes or anything like that. You have to use rocket motors for the descent and you have to make sure you go down at the right angle and the right rate of descent and you don't end up in a crater on top of a large rock." State-run China Central Television showed a computer-generated image of the Chang'e 3 lander's path as it approached the surface of the moon, saying that during the 12-minute landing period it needed to have no contact with Earth. As it was just hundreds of meters (yards) away, the lander's camera broadcast images of the moon's surface. The Chang'e 3's solar panels, which are used to absorb sunlight to generate power, opened soon after the landing. The Chang'e 3 will set up antennae that will transmit pictures back to Earth. The Chang'e mission blasted off from southwest China on Dec. 2 on a Long March-3B carrier rocket. China's military-backed space program has made methodical progress in a relatively short time, although it lags far behind the United States and Russia in technology and experience. China sent its first astronaut into space in 2003, becoming the third nation after Russia and the United States to achieve manned space travel independently. In 2006, it sent its first probe to the moon. China plans to open a space station around 2020 and send an astronaut to the moon after that. "They are taking their time with getting to know about how to fly humans into space, how to build space stations ... how to explore the solar system, especially the moon and Mars," Bond said. "They are making good strides, and I think over the next 10, 20 years they'll certainly be rivaling Russia and America in this area and maybe overtaking them in some areas." |
The Richest World Leaders You Need To Know
HuffPost
World has recently compiled a list of the 20 richest world leaders
currently in power. In the list that includes kings, queens, presidents,
sultans...and, ahem, dictators.
1. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia Worth: $40 Billion GDP per capita: $14,000
2. Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand Worth: $30 Billion GDP per capita: $4,400
3. Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei Worth: $20 Billion GDP per capita: $41,000
4. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia Worth: $18 Billion GDP per capita: $21,000
5. Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE Worth: $15 Billion GDP per capita: $40,000
6. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emir of Dubai Worth: $14 Billion GDP per capita: $16,000
7. Kim Jong-un, Supreme Leader of North Korea Worth: $5 Billion GDP per capita: $1,800
8. Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechstenstein Worth: $5 Billion GDP per capita: $135,000
9. Mohammed VI, King of Morocco Worth: $2.5 Billion GDP per capita: $3,000
10. Sebastian Pinera, President of Chile Worth: $2.5 Billion GDP per capita: $15,000
11. Congress President Sonia Gandhi Worth: $2 Billion GDP per capita: $1,500
12. Qaboos bin Said, Sultan of Oman Worth: $700 Million GDP per capita: $23,700
13. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea Worth: $600 Million GDP per capita: $24,000
14. Elizabeth II, Queen of England Worth: $400 Million to 500 Million GDP per capita: $38,000
1. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia Worth: $40 Billion GDP per capita: $14,000
2. Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand Worth: $30 Billion GDP per capita: $4,400
3. Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei Worth: $20 Billion GDP per capita: $41,000
4. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia Worth: $18 Billion GDP per capita: $21,000
5. Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE Worth: $15 Billion GDP per capita: $40,000
6. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emir of Dubai Worth: $14 Billion GDP per capita: $16,000
7. Kim Jong-un, Supreme Leader of North Korea Worth: $5 Billion GDP per capita: $1,800
8. Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechstenstein Worth: $5 Billion GDP per capita: $135,000
9. Mohammed VI, King of Morocco Worth: $2.5 Billion GDP per capita: $3,000
10. Sebastian Pinera, President of Chile Worth: $2.5 Billion GDP per capita: $15,000
11. Congress President Sonia Gandhi Worth: $2 Billion GDP per capita: $1,500
12. Qaboos bin Said, Sultan of Oman Worth: $700 Million GDP per capita: $23,700
13. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea Worth: $600 Million GDP per capita: $24,000
14. Elizabeth II, Queen of England Worth: $400 Million to 500 Million GDP per capita: $38,000
Understanding The Oil Theft Business In Nigeria (All About Stolen Crude)
I have heard some of the dumbest statements about crude oil theft from some top social critics who have never taken the time to read up or understand oil theft in the Niger Delta of Nigeria or globally. I do not know if maybe because there is little material available that deeply explains the goings-on
The most popular accusation is that he is letting "his people" of the Niger Delta steal the crude as a form of "settlement"
This article sets to give an insight into the oil theft business....what has never been in print (yes yes, I feel the coming applause...after all e no easy to carry una enter the creeks and dangerous yet lucrative business of oil theft.)
Now to avoid a case of slander and libel, most of the things I will say of people, please add "alleged" as I cannot prove anyone's involvement. What I here write, it is your choice to accept it or throw it away as baseless.
The brilliant ones amongst us will see the plausibility of the points and realize that even if it is unable to stand up in court, yet this is the true happening in the oil-rich Niger Delta and the new millionaires it spouts daily while the environment and peoples suffer.
Okay, we begin.
Oil, arms and cocaine are the three biggest international businesses of questionable nature. Blood diamond is a distant fourth.
The moneys that derive from these ventures make ending these businesses a very daunting if not impossible task.
Let us take a look at America, they spend the most money on securing their borders. They have the Coast Guards, Marines, FBI, CIA, and the police. Coca plants, from which you process cocaine do not grow in America. Yet if you stand back at many metro stations and street corners, and watch well, I am sure you will find someone you can buy cocaine or crack or at the ;least, marijuana from.
Now even if cocaine comes in small parcels, marijuana is very bulky and yet all of them find their way through the security apparatuses to even high schools and colleges...without fail.
Now why is this so? Why is almighty America that is able to detect those who try to harm the country, that spies on all the presidents of the world, that knows what you ate for dinner and if you were with your girlfriend while your wife was pregnant, why are they losing the "war on drugs"?
The same reason Nigeria will almost always be unable to stop oil theft....THE STAKES ARE TOO HIGH. TOO MUCH MONEY TO BE MADE. TYPE OF MONEY YOU SHOOT YOUR MOTHER OVER AND FEEL NO REGRET... AS YOU DO A HUGE BURIAL FOR HER....WITH THE PROCEEDS FROM THE DEALS.
Okay, a very zealous president decides to fight the oil theft. He gets some solid no-nonsense policemen and soldiers from the North and sends them to the Niger Delta with the instructions "torpedo any vessel with stolen oil"
. The Hausa man is determined to do just that as he waves his three wives and ten children goodbye, asking Allah to watch over them for him.
He arrives Warri and gets on the boat with fellow officers as they patrol the waters.
He finds however that firstly, the creeks are not mapped as the country's leaders never envisaged they would ever develop that area. It was only good for draining the oil and not mapping it so as to get medical help or food etc to the denizens of the creeks. So even the soldiers rely on the Ijaw Private to navigate the boat for them.
He also finds that all eyes are on him as they patrol and the conversations...many of which is in Hausa as his townsman interprets what the Yoruba superior officer is saying to him. They are asking him about his family and if he wants the best life for them and he of course says he does.
And then they see the big vessel in the distance and they approach with speed. He gets his rifle ready and prays to Allah to protect him as he serves his country. Their patrol boat stops the vessel and he expects gunfire as he sees a very well armed boat of locals with leaves and red pieces of cloth around their arms, obviously voodoo as they clutch AK47s and SMGs ....superior guns to his.
He is somewhat afraid and wonders if they can win this battle should these people refuse to surrender. His thoughts immediately go to his 3 wives and even the fourth he is preparing to marry.
And then what happens next amazes him. The superior officer boards the vessel, returns with a huge suitcase and some expensive cigars and he is all smiles as the locals scream "officer! All correct sir" and let a few gunshots into the air as they and the oil vessel recede into the distance approaching international waters.
He is taken aback. He looks and sees eyes now furtively turned away from him. There and then the officer hands each of the JTF (joint task force) members a stack of money and hands him his.
This goes against everything he was taught in the mosque and in the army. But as he refuses to stretch out his hand, he hears a gun rooster behind him and there and then he knows the choices before him....become rich or die poor...right here right now.
I have found that like me when I watch football and my team is losing, even if it is to a much better-prepared, organized and financially savvy team, I scream at my team's coach who is not even the goalkeeper that allowed in a goal my late grandma would have caught with her arthritis. NO! I still scream "he no sabi coach. the coach yeye. sack am". So also have many Nigerians been at daggers-drawn with the administration of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, many accusing him of either being indolent in the fight to stop oil theft, complicity in or in fact being the very thief of the crude. The only thing I have not heard is that the President's black colour/complexion is the crude that poured on him on one of the crude oil stealing missions
He reluctantly stretches forth his hands and takes the money, his survival instincts taking over....undesirous of a death in the slick waters of thee Niger Delta.
He looks at the money and his heart skips a beat...the stack is in clean hundred dollar bills. Adamu his 14 years old son can marry his first wife and he his fourth with this. He almost says "Allah Akbar, but stops himself as he knew this was against the teachings of the prophet. But what other choice does he have?
And as he comes ashore and visits his brothers at Hausa Quarters in Warri, as he hands in the dollars and gets 300 thousand naira in exchange at the black market, he realizes it is not a bad first day at the job. The Hausa people rush their complimentary cards to him and ask him to bring the dollars to them next time for better exchange rate....next time? Wow, what has he been wasting his time in the North for ever since?
The above is the everyday scenario of the JTF and attempts to stop oil theft. What government can pay its security 300 grand a trip? How do you compete with these businessmen?
America with its social security net, better society, insurance, etc etc are unable to convince their officers not to collect "egunje" (bribe) how then do you really expect the Nigerian soldier or police who are used to collecting twenty naira as bribe in broad daylight with kids watching, to refuse 300 thousand?
Now make no mistake, this is not a new development. It is only getting attention now because this administration has gone on to speak endlessly about it and are "clueful" enough to know there is only one way to fight it.....we will get to that shortly.
WHY DOES ASARI DOKUBOH AND MANY MILITANT AND EX MILITANT LEADERS MUSLIMS?
BECAUSE ALL THOSE WHO STOLE CRUDE OIL USED TO BE HAUSA MUSLIMS. Yes, Ijaws and all in the creeks were mere serfs/boyboy to these Hausas prior to Ken Saro Wiwa's wake up call. For "Alhaji" to trust and love you, you had to convert to Islam and trust the brilliant Dokuboh whose village has no mosque and who cannot explain how he became Muslim in the creeks to anyone except of course now you know.
These theft are why the word ALHAJI came to mean "oga", Millionaire" "master" to the average Niger Deltan.
Then came Ken Saro Wiwa, who knew these Hausas were not more intelligent than he and knew it was HIS OIL as in OGONI PEOPLE OIL that these Hausa/Fulani were using their own people as slaves while they made all the money....from his oil.
So he began the struggles against the oppression and theft. In fact to him, NIGERIA WAS STEALING HIS OIL AS NOTHING CAME BACK TO HIS PEOPLE.
Yes, Hausa with Yoruba support in following Ahmahdu Bello's script of saying "We must treat the Niger-Delta people as conquered territories" never bothered to give back to nor feed the goose that lay the golden egg. Lagos, then Abuja was developed while Oloibiri that brought the oil died...I mean DIED...yes Oloibiri where oil was first found is a dead town. The blood was pumped from its veins, its heart and liver harvested so Lagos can be healthy.
Same thing was done to Abuja as Ogidigbe, Kpokpo, Ugborodo and Gbodoro etc continue to be wastelands with no government presence as its resources are drained through the pipelines.
ENTER IBORI, ALAMIESEIGHA AND ODILI, THE GOVERNORS OF THE NIGER-DELTA STATES
These young governors immediately see the potentials of the wake up call by Ken Saro Wiwa. The Ijaws and other tribes in the creek, beholden no more to their Hausa slave-masters are now mentored by the Iboris and Odilis and Alamieseighas who it is rumoured armed them even better and became the ones who now market the stolen crude...and why not? Is the oil in Arab lands not owned by the sheikhs? It is rumoured other governors started calling Ibori the Sheikh as we heard he even attempted to own refineries in South Africa.
The wealth from the oil theft got into Alams and Ibori's head and they started asking for 50 percent derivation which pitched them against then president Obasanjo who then ensured Alamieseigha got arrested in the UK and then began the famous "Ibori is an ex convict" court case which brought Ibori to his knees as he would have been removed from office as he is an exconvict twice over during his time in the UK.
YAR"ADUA AND GEJ
Now you must understand that OBJ in refusing for Odili and or Ibori to be president or vice, knew that these two individuals had too much power and money and so chose the powerless, docile GEJ to be Yar"Adua's vice.
Yar'Adua knew he had to stop this militancy which had gotten out of hand as both Abacha a military man and OBJ an ex military man's aggressive policies of engagement and killing was counter-productive. Yar"Adua saw that the country was losing billions from its reduced oil production and theft and knew he could not kill all the militants as Obasanjo tried to do in Odi which backfired both in oil production and in the eyes of the international community. So Yar"Adua proposed the perspicacious "amnesty program" which is a simple strategy to remove the majority of the youths of the Niger Delta and then he can go on to kill those who refuse to stop the militancy.
The strategy involved giving a pittance to these youths as payment and then going on to drain the oil. It worked and works still as it has led to companies returning to the creeks and oil production going back up.
Now he needed someone to broker the peace (same thing GEJ is asking of Buhari with the Boko Haram which Buhari refuses to do) GEJ went to the militants and there began his fight with Ibori.
Ibori was the only one militants listened to. People who are kidnapped even in Port Harcourt and Akwa Ibom are returned to him at Asaba. Thus Ibori was the most powerful man from the Niger-Delta, the feeders of Nigeria. Thus he wanted and indeed showed OBJ and Yar'Adua that GEJ was a neophyte and a stranger to how militancy works. He Ibori and Alamieseigha, GEJ's benefactor were the shot-callers and not this nonentity called GEJ...Vice President or not.
GEJ upon going to the militants was body-searched...told to hands up as they patted his body for guns and or wire taps. GEJ was said to have cried as he spoke Ijaw to the militants asking why they are humiliating him their own tribesman. That is he rambo that will shoot all of them?
Thus when YarAdua took the decision to bomb CAMP 5, GEJ remembering his humiliation said nothing.
Indeed, from Asari Dokubo's earlier speeches about GEJ, you will see a lack of respect that he would not dare with Ibori.
It is only now that GEJ has used the power of presidency to curtail Asari's excesses and Asari now knows to watch his statements to GEJ.
However successful the "amnesty program" has been, it has only succeeded to stop attack on oil installations and not to stop the boys from the creeks from making money. They have been exposed to the big business that oil is and really, who stops making money when he still can?
HOW THE DEALS ARE DONE
Okay, how then are these crude oil sales done? Okay check this scenario; I Ena Ofugara find Chinese here in America wanting to buy crude. I get all four of them and we arrive Warri or Yenagoa. The Chinese do not trust me as I am a Nigerian. So they never pay upfront. They keep their vessel in international waters.
Now I locate these oil sellers who have gathered enough crude from illegal refineries in Burutu, Patani and elsewhere or have cut a pipe and have drained enough to fill a vessel. I tell them I have buyers. They too do not trust me so they ask one of the four Chinese to enter their vessel and if having loaded the vessel they refuse to pay and or run off, they murder the Chinese. This is human security/collateral for their oil. They get the vessel, pulled sometimes by tugboat to international waters where the Chinese vessel is waiting and then when payment is made, the Chinese is released to them. I get my cut or I am killed...as greed and double-cross are ever present where these huge monies exchange hands.
GEJ'S CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL HELP
Where you one of the mumus that laughed at GEJ when he called for international help to stop oil theft? Did you join the media and facebook critics who insulted our president and called him "olodo" and "clueless" for asking their help? Slap yourself twice. Done? Good!!!
America knew they would never be able to stop security operatives from allowing drugs in. The knew the simple economic truism "WHERE THERE IS DEMAND, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SUPPLY". This was true in the PROHIBITION and it will be true forevermore. And so they devised "follow the money". They passed laws and got International cooperation to declare drug trade an international crime and any moneys gotten/laundered through it was to be confiscated and shared between America and the host/domicile country. Switzerland and Luxembourg, the choice location for such moneys had to agree and that way the Escobars and and Griselda Blancos lost huge moneys to America and Switzerland and many druglords are no longer able to stay in business for long as it has become really hard to stash the cash.
This is what GEJ asks for stolen crude. It will reduce it....not end it even....just like drugs.
GEJ is pushing for crude oil theft to be added to piracy and drug trade as international crimes and so Nigeria can close down refineries in France, South Africa, China etc wherein stolen crude from Nigeria are refined. This is most "clueful" and deserving of support and applause.
Nigeria can never pay police 300 thousand per trip. WE CANNOT COMPETE, so silly speeches that blame the remuneration of the police and army as reasons for oil theft is just silly.
EX-MILITANTS AS SECURITY
The militants employed as security can only minimize and not eliminate it. What it does is get fewer youths not to need to be crude thieves themselves and also for them to catch a bunkerer here or there...as in...stop the smaller fishes.
But like as happens with the MAFIA and arms and cocaine dealer and barons, the big fishes, the sharks, the really organized criminals will continue to do this business as crime is a step ahead of detection
ASARI, TOMPOLO AND THEIR WEALTH
If you think Asari and the Tompolos get their money from pittance paid to them as amnesty, if you have criticised this admnistration based on this, neeldown, hands up and close your eyes. You deserve to be punished.
Asari Dokuboh is a brilliant man as are Atake Tom etc. These people have young brilliant people by their side as advisers...lawyers, doctors, professors too.
These ex-militants like old MAFIA bosses have legitimized. They have started doing legitimate businesses with these oil companies.
This is the part that is killing the Hausa/Fulani who owned this racket. Their companies can no longer assure Mobil, nor Chevron, nor Shell of security and safe passage of goods...especially during the peak of militancy. Now these companies need this oil and will continue to do business even if rockets and bombs land daily. All they will do is align with those that can ensure their business goes on as their society is run by this oil.
Thus when Ken saro Wiwa opened the eyes of these Ijaws and other tribes in the creeks, Asari no longer needed his "Alhaji" and thus became his own boss and suddenly his "alhaji" was calling him sir. Man Friday has taken over from Robinson Crusoe
These companies thus deal directly with these militants/ex-militants on security....no different from how the MAFIA operates....create a security need and fill that need.
But that is not all. These oil companies like Mobil only drill. Al other inchoate businesees like House Boats, hospitality, iron fashioning, pipe-laying, diesel supply etc are contracted out. Foreign companies seeking to do business now offeer the militants as much as forty percent of profits and make them partners.
Do I hear you hiss? Was this not how Awolowo got shares in Coca Cola, or Rewane Flour Mill and so on? Does Coca Cola need Awolowo to sell their products? NO. Global companies partner with locals ad offer them equities. These equities used to be given to the "Alhajis". Now it is given to the Tom Atekes and this is ingratiating to those who have been dislodged from this opportunity.
So if you see Tom Ateke with a private jet, he may own 30 percent equity of Bloomberg Drillers, and may be the labour supplier to Anderson Glass, and is chief security officer to Mobil.
Did you say something about the security? Did you just insult the Nigerian Government's inability to provide security? Again, give yourself a knock on your head. Security is provided in main by private establishments in capitalist societies. When a Nigerian arrives in the US, the first available job to him is as security man in a private establishment. Thus Atake et al are only following global trends.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER
1. Why was Asari Dokuboh the first person Al-Mustapha went to meet having been released from jail? What business do they have together? Should they not be enemies considering Hamza Al Mustapha was Chief Security Officer during the regime of Abacha and was Asari not public enemy number one? What business I ask again did they transact together?
2. If GEJ is involved in oil theft, why is his government through Ngozi Oonjo-Iweala the first to scream about it? Why is GEJ going round trying to lobby oil theft to be declared an international crime?
3. How will you end it if you were president? Can you stop your JTF from collecting bribe in the high seas and oceans of the Niger Delta? How will you monitor them?
4. Is it not time to build the bridges that the Forcados and escravos communities need to link them together by land as was done in Lagos that has contributed little to Nigeria's commonwealth in comparison?
5. If we stop the stipend to ex-militants, can Nigeria withstand the upsurge in jobless youths in the creeks?
Tell me how you intend to end oil theft and I will call you MASTER!!!
THE END
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