A Captive President, Blighted Country, Docile People

 By Chris Gyang

Those Nigerians who once thought that the Buhari presidency would take our country to a destination better than this forlorn outpost of stasis, anarchy and overwhelming misery now know better. They are shaking their heads in utter regret, and sheer bewilderment.

*Buhari 

When we warned, even as early as the days before the 2015 presidential vote, that Buhari’s rabid sectionalism and extreme religious proclivities would push Nigeria to a sad precipice, we were excoriated and branded as hateful and irrational peddlers of Islamophobia. But those who pointed accusing fingers at us then are now also crying, painfully – victims of Islamist terrorism, Fulani herdsmen’s terrorism and expansionism, armed banditry, kidnapping for hefty pay-offs and sundry criminalities that have become the chief themes of Buhari’s reign so far.

But, lest we forget, this is the man whom Boko Haram once penciled down as their spokesman before he became president – based on his strident support for them (once upon a time?) This is a president in whose cabinet a popular and self-confessed Al-Qaeda apologist snugly perches – one of the president’s closest allies.

National Assembly’s Best Option Is To Impeach Buhari

 By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

This past week, education came to a halt in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, FCT. It began with the order by the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, on July 25 closing down all six Federal Government Colleges (better known as Unity Schools) in the FCT while the students were in the middle of their end of year examinations.

*Odinkalu

The reason for this order, according to the Minister, was “a security breach on Sheda and Lambata villages, suburbs of Kwali Area Council which also threatened FGC Kwali”. He provided no details as to the nature or extent of the “security breach”.

In a separate announcement issued on the same day, the Education Secretariat of the FCT summarily informed “parents and guardians that the 2021/2022 academic calendar for FCT schools will come to an end on Wednesday, July 27, 2022”. They did not much care to provide any justification for this measure. The assumption that the reason for the closure of all schools in the FCT was the same as that cited by the Minister of Education when he closed down the Unity Schools, does not necessarily explain the two more days of grace given by the FCT administration to all the other schools in the FCT.

Cumulative Evidence Of Buhari’s Failure

 By Olayemi Olaniyi   

If you’re not in academia, there is a good chance you don’t know what the hell a Nomological Network of Cumulative Evidence means. I came across this rather prolix and strange phrase during one of the many podcast interviews granted by the Lebanese-Canadian Professor, Gad Saad, that I have been binge-watching for weeks now. Gad Saad is arguably the world’s leading expert in Evolutionary Psychology; a field that theoretically explains psychological structure through modern evolutionary context.

*Buhari 

According to Saad, to build a nomological network of cumulative evidence essentially means to provide a wide range of evidence across various disciplines to explain a theory. The results of this interdisciplinary voyage usually would lead to the same conclusion, hence, giving the researcher an airtight premise to support their case. He often cites how Charles Darwin used this framework in On the Origin of Species. Darwin presented a nomological network of evidence from geology, archaeology, biology, anthropology, and a mélange of other disciplines in support of his theory of evolution in his seminal book.

Nigeria: That Audacious Attack On Kuje Prison!

 By Ayo Oyoze Baje

 “There can be no faith in government if our highest offices are excused from scrutiny. They should be setting the examples” -Edward Snowden

They come in with guts, grits and such a high level of gruesomeness to unleash terror on innocent Nigerians and yet go Scot-free! The dare-devil bravado of these unpatriotic elements cannot but ignite in you the urge to ask the million-naira question of who really owns this country, Nigeria? Right from 2009 the mindless mission of the terrorists (call them Boko Haram insurgents, bandits or ISWAP) has been to turn the apple cart against the peaceful cohabitation of the good citizens of the country, by deploying ethno-religious sentiments.

Unfortunately, they seem to be succeeding in the heinous crimes against Nigerians and smiling all the way to their blood banks! That brings in the pains, considering the several thousands of those who have lost their lives to their deadly attacks; others who have lost loved ones and thousands of those left to stew on in preventable anguish in several IDP camps. Add the humongous public sums budgeted every blessed year, surreptitiously to fight the insurgency and the pitiable plight of the people in the face of insurgency and the nebulous picture gets clearer. But, it is only part of their nefarious agenda to bring the indigenous people of Nigeria to their begging knees.

Obi’s Mass Movement And The Rekindling Of Youths’ Reawakening

 By Chuks Ucheagu

A chilling anecdote purportedly written by Chingiz Aitmatov and attributed to the former Soviet leader Josef Stalin tells how it is easy to govern ignorant people. The allegory describes how the dictator asked that a live chicken be brought to him. Next he plucked all the feathers off.

*Peter Obi dragging his hand-luggage to board a commercial 

flight with other Nigerians 

He then cast the chicken by his feet and began throwing some grains of wheat at it. Bloodied and in crushing pain, the chicken began eating the grains and followed Stalin wherever he went. Over the years in Nigeria, the political class amplifies their survival by ensuring that the people are kept in most profound ignorance.

They continue to dominate and control the people by impoverishing them. They formulate policies that will serve their interests first and do not really bother about the welfare of the people. They loot and steal from the public till with impunity and on industrial scale. When nothing is left to loot, they go into borrowing frenzy and thus mortgage the future of their youths.

With this level of brigandage on and heist of our commonwealth, all the indices of development are neglected. Because the monies meant for development fritter into private pockets. Therefore, inflation sets in because productive sectors of the economy are neglected.

Shiroro Massacre: An Entire Battalion Wiped Out And Buhari Still Stays In Abuja!

 By Obi Nwakanma

On Wednesday, terrorists operating in Shiroro, Niger State, massacred numerous people, including about 42 Nigerian soldiers and policemen, and an unknown, unaccountable number of civilians at a mining site. Among those missing, according to certain media reports, are some Chinese. Just for context, the areas around the Shiroro Dam are where ISWAP fighters months ago mounted their flag, claiming them as their territory.

*Buhari

The story of this attack seems to have very plainly justified their assertion of sovereign control over that part of Niger State, or any other part of Nigeria, where security reports indicate, to all intents and purposes, that the Nigerian authorities seem to have lost control.

According to media reports, these attackers came heavily armed and started shooting in the Ajata-Aboki area where the mines are located. What they are mining with the Chinese, nobody knows. But the soldiers in the nearby town of Erena, not far from the scene of the massacre, were alerted, and deployed. They fell into an ambush. In the  firefight, about 32 soldiers were said to have lost their lives. Wrap your heads around this figure, dear reader, and it will slowly sink in: that what was destroyed is an entire battalion! How did this happen?

Insecurity In Nigeria: What Exactly Is Govt Getting Right?

 By Ladesope Ladelokun

The President handed Nigerians the marking scheme with which to assess him some five years ago when he told Nigerians at virtually every campaign stop that he would fight insecurity, work hard to revive an economy in a tailspin and declare a total war on the vermin called corruption.

*President Buhari

But it must be said that it is not the best of times for Nigeria at the moment. The most populous black nation is mourning. It is mourning the demise of peace in a country where human life is not worth more than a kobo a dozen and left helplessly bleeding by elephantine corruption.

While it is expected that every rational leader would be worried about Nigeria’s many problems, it cannot be out of place to state that worrying alone cannot liberate the wretched from the chasm of destitution, or lift an economy gasping for breath. But hope gives the strength to trudge on when everything fails. After all, only death terminates hope and only the living can hope. But hope can be shattered.

Nigeria: From Freedom To Anarchy

By Dan Amor

Once upon a time, there was a young country struggling in the comity of nations to find her place in the sun. For, in this young country of brave people, it was discovered that free­dom was a God-given right. So impressed were the citizens with this belief that they lit a candle to symbolise their freedom. But, in their wisdom, they knew that the flame could not burn alone. So, they lit a second candle to symbolize man’s right to govern himself. The third candle was lighted to sig­nify that the rights of the individual were more important than the rights of the State. And finally, they lit a fourth candle to show that government should not do for the peo­ple those things which the people should do and have been doing for themselves.

*Buhari 

As the four candles of freedom burned brightly, the young country prospered. And as they prospered, they grew fat. And as they grew fat, they got lazy. When they got lazy, they asked the government to do things for them which they had been doing for them­selves, and one of the candles went out.

Does Nigeria Still Matter To Nigerians?

 By Dan Amor

It is the biggest question of the day! Does Nigeria really matter? Like an inscrutable nightmare, the ponderous mystery of the Nigerian national question, which is ultimately the nation’s enduring essence, is still at issue. Jolted by the scandalous and shocking display of the obvious limitations of the human evolution, the unacceptable index of human misery in their country, and willed by a recent memory of oppression inflicted upon them by discredited soldiers and their quislings, Nigerians have been singing discordant tunes about the state of their forced Union.   

This has further been exacerbated by disarming pockets of inter and intra-communal clashes, wanton killings by herdsmen, senseless Boko Haram bombings, frequent kidnappings by armed bandits, violent robbery and mindless ritual killings across the country. Therefore, the matter for regret and agitation is that a supposedly giant of Africa has suddenly become the world’s most viable junkyard due to the evil  machinations of a fraudulent ruling class and the feudal forces still determined to keep the country in a permanent state of medieval servitude. 

Suspicious ‘Hope’, Kanu’s Arrest, The North’s Duplicity

 By Chris Gyang

Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State is the typical Nigerian politician. With utmost dexterity, he has mastered the intrigues of survival in this most brutal and unconscionable trade. For instance, in 2018, Mr. Hope promptly dumped the PDP, his party since 1999 on which platform he served two Senate terms, and joined the ruling APC. 

*Kanu

He had realised that his prospects of becoming governor as an APC candidate were brighter than as that of the PDP. And, true to his reckoning, he later emerged as governor – even though it took a Supreme Court ruling to confirm his victory. Self-preservation and political survival is the name of the game. Apparently, Governor Hope had mastered it so well.

The day before the Nigerian government announced the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, Governor Hope had advised his fellow Igbo people to support the Buhari-led Federal Government because, “After God in Nigeria, the next person is Buhari. He has the power to dictate where there should be light or not, and it happens.” The governor was widely condemned by Nigerians, some of whom dubbed his utterance as blasphemy for almost comparing Buhari to God.

Nigeria: Isa Pantami Should Be in Jail

 By Yemi Adebowale

In Law, Ignorance is not an excuse. Confessing to a crime is not immunity against trial. Again, the fact that an offence was committed years back does not mean the offender will escape justice. The person can be put on trial anytime the facts of the crime emerge. That was why the American government put former film producer, Harvey Weinstein on trial for sex offences dating back to the late 1970s. 

*Pantami

Weinstein was arrested, charged with rape in New York in May 2018, convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison. Nigeria’s Communication and Digital Economy Minister, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, for his past extremist and flammable preaching, is liable for trial for incitement; inciting Muslims against Christians, inciting Muslims against the federal government and the military. In criminal law, incitement is encouraging another person to commit a crime. It is committed when one person counsels, procures or commands another to commit a crime, whether or not that person commits the crime.

Is Nigeria A Mistake?

By Julius Oweh  

Of the three prominent early Nigerian na​tionalists, it was perhaps Nnamdi Azikiwe, the great Zik of Africa and a mentor to Kwame Nkrumah who believed in the unity and corporate existence of the nation. The other two, Ahmadu Bello and Obafemi Awolowo at one time or the other expressed their reservations about the unity and oneness of the country. It is on record that Ahmadu Bello described the 1914 amalgamation as a mistake, while Awolowo described Nigeria as a mere geographical expression. 

*Buhari 

At the height of constitutional conferences that paved way for the nation‘s independence, Bello was quoted as saying about  the north ‘we are not going to be part of Nigeria again‘. The most powerful politician of the north at that time only had a change of mind when Awolowo explained the concept of federalism to the Premier of northern region.   I am embarking on this political voyage so that you can truly understand the situation and why after sixty years of independence, despite the abundant human and material resources, Nigeria is still the butt of dirty diplomatic jokes around the globe. 

Cry Not For Northern Nigeria!

 By Yakubu Mohammed

Apparently, the North deserves pity. But is it worth crying for?  Whichever angle you want to look at it, and through whichever prism you want to look at the Hobbesian state of its conditions today, the inevitable conclusion is that the North has nobody to blame but itself.

In its heydays, with good leadership that was imbued with sound vision, the North was united and monolithic in more senses than one. And relatively, it was more economically viable, self-confident, arrogant even.

But today, it is at war with itself, thanks to rabid ethnicity and religious bigotry with a system that wallows more in mediocrity than merit. Home to soulless insecurity with Boko Haram and other assorted criminals, armed bandits, kidnappers, cattle rustlers and herdsmen, both local and foreign, unhinged, the once united and peaceful North has turned into a hot bed of grotesque abnormality.

Enugu Massacre: Forget IPOB, They Are Ndigbo

By Aloy Ejimakor

A famous Nigerian politician once said (in spirited defense of the Yoruba) that “before I became a Nigerian, I was Yoruba”. And another one said: “We will write this for all to read. Anyone, soldier or not that kills the Fulani takes a loan repayable one day no matter how long it takes.”

The Yoruba has, in moderation, said his own. The Fulani has, in extremism, said his own. Let me now, as an Igbo, say my own, and here it is: Whoever takes the life of an IPOB member is taking the life of an Igbo and therefore will ultimately account to Ndigbo. It’s not a threat; it’s a fact.

Insecurity In Nigeria: Declare A State Of Emergency

By Dan Amor

Nigeria has become a perdition in which everybody is losing and nobody is gaining. Everywhere you ever go, your nostrils are daily confronted with the stench of death. The possibility of scores of our compatriots being killed on a daily basis is almost predictable. From the rampaging Fulani herdsmen killing, maiming and kidnapping hundreds of innocent and defenseless Nigerians on a daily basis to cascading incidents of inter-communal or tribal wars across the country, the growing menace of violent armed robbery and police brutality, and ritual killings, Nigerians are having more than they bargained for. 

All this is happening under the watch of a sitting government whose officials are openly asking native peoples to surrender their lands for cattle ranching to avoid being killed. Several analysts, newspaper editorials and informed commentators have had to proffer solutions to the numerous crises bedeviling the country including the imperative for State Police and the urgent need to tame the so-called ‘indigenes/settlers’ dichotomy, but the government at the centre behaves as though it has the solutions to all the problems of the country whereas its efforts are not adding up. 

When A President’s Silence Isn’t Golden

By Banji Ojewale

 Silence isn’t golden when your house is in flames and you’re alone at home. You need to shout for help from the army of neighbours within reach. You need to raise your lone voice above the crackles of the inferno gaining new grounds.

 Silence isn’t golden when your spotless reputation is vociferously impugned or threatened and you have an opportunity to stop the campaign. Silence isn’t golden when there is a cacophony of opinions and reports, false or accurate, reaching the public about your candour. Your silence here isn’t golden; it is grotesque, grisly and grimy.

A Message To The North: The South Is Getting Fed Up!

By Dr Ugoji Egbujo

I have a story to tell the North. I hope it receives it in good faith. I love the North. So I have decided to tell the North how his brother the South truly feels. The South loves the north but the South is getting fed up. The truth may taste bitter but it sets free. I will throw away political correctness and let the North know how the South feels because the North has to sit up and shape up.

The South is getting fed up. Today, it’s Boko Haram. Tomorrow it’s banditry. Yesterday, it was confounding mass illiteracy. And no mention has been made yet about the abiding mass obesity of the North. Family resources are being wasted fighting useless fires! The truth is: the South increasingly sees the North like a slothful, temperamental brother that has stubbornly refused to go to school and has begun to keep the company of bad gangs.

At 59, What Will Save Nigeria?

By  Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie

At 59, may God bless our leaders and all our fellow-citizens. May God bless the government and people of Nigeria with wisdom, courage and patience to work together in harmony so that we may build a Nigeria that does the will of God, a Nigeria we all can be proud of. All those who believe in God and who wish Nigeria well must pray and work for a better Nigeria. 

*Cardinal Okogie 

We must not just bend our knees in prayer, we must also roll up our sleeves and work for Nigeria. We must overcome our addiction so that we can enjoy the numerous blessings with which the Almighty had endowed us as a country—our addiction to falsehood.  Our allergy to truth is our greatest undoing. 

Yemi Osinbajo: This Silence Is Deafening

By Itunu Ajayi

The 1999 Constitution of Nigeria did not specifically ascribe a clear cut decision making role to the office of the vice president, so I will not wrap this piece around his office as Nigeria’s vice president. An office that has been described in some quarters as ‘spare tire’, “senior personal assistant to the president with fat salary’’, the description is endless.

*Osinbajo

As such I will not be addressing you much as VP in this piece due to your almost none existing role in the constitution, I will be talking to you as Yemi Osinbajo, a human being who has blood flowing through his veins and one that should have the moral justification and conscience to speak directly to President Buhari and express his displeasure at the killings in the country where it is increasingly difficult for people to travel from one town to the other.

Funke Olakunrin: Season Of Tears, Lies And Denials

By Ladesope Ladelokun 

Ever since a daughter of Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, was murdered in cold blood by suspected herdsmen on the Ondo-Ore road, the Akure home of the nonagenarian has been a Mecca of sort for genuine mourners and pretenders who only want to get photo ops to advertise their feigned compassion.

*Funke Olakunrin

Understandably, it is not unexpected that lawmakers, governors and the presidency have taken turns to touch Akure soil in order to visit the bereaved because of the political connection of the victim – Mrs Funke Olakunrin. On July 12, 2019, Olakunrin joined the burgeoning figure of Nigerians dispatched to early graves by the bloodthirsty  fiends on rampage across Nigeria who now seem unstoppable as they have turned vast swathes of the Nigerian space to killing fields, leaving citizens in perpetual fear.