The Misplaced Call To Pray For Tyrant

By Femi Fani-Kayode

Permit me to begin this contribution with an aside. It is only a weak, insecure, paranoid, wicked, heartless, ignorant, lawless and callous government that refuses to identify, apprehend, prosecute and hang the bloodthirsty, psychopathic and murdering Janjaweed Islamist Fulani militants and herdsmen and instead arrests an innocent and accomplished young man like Audu Maikori who simply had the courage to cry out to the world about the barbarous genocide that the people of Southern Kaduna and members of his ethnic group and religious faith are being subjected to all over the north.

*Femi Fani-Kayode

I am convinced that my old friend Governor Nasir El Rufai has lost it. He has literally been driven mad by the power that he now wields. If he wants peace in Kaduna state and in the entire country is this the way to achieve it? Does he really believe that locking up his critics and those that have expressed concern about the mass murder and crimes against humanity that are being perpetuated in his state by his Fulani friends and kinsmen who he publicly admitted that he sends public funds to is the way forward?

Does he not know that the suppression of dissenting voices and intimidation will only lead to more anger, resistance, violence and dissent? Can he not build bridges rather than burn them? Can he not make friends rather than make enemies? Here is my message to him: the people of Southern Kaduna are NOT your slaves and neither are the northern minorities, the people of the south or the Christians of Nigeria.

You can kill and lock up as many of us as you like: our faith will only continue to grow, we shall continue to go from strength to strength and we shall oppose and resist you till the bitter end. At the appointed time the Lord will strike back at you for your power show and sheer wickedness and He shall deliver His people. I will not beg you to free Audu Maikori but instead I will strongly advise you to do so. This brings me to the meat of this intervention.

One of the qualities that a Prince must have is the ability to speak truth to power no matter the price, no matter the consequences and no matter whose ox is gored.

Today I will share a truth which many may not like but which, as a leader and a Prince, I am constrained to share. Some have suggested that every Nigerian is compelled by God to pray for our ailing President. I disagree. I do not wish him ill or wish him dead but at the same time I do not subscribe to the view that I am compelled to pray for him. I would rather save my prayers for the thousands of Audu Maikori’s of this world who are suffering persecution and who are languishing in dingy cells all over our country for doing absolutely nothing wrong. I would rather save my prayers for the souls and families of those that have been cut short by the guns and bullets of government security forces, the bombs of radical Islamic terrorists and the machetes and knives of the Fulani militias and herdsmen.

When the Holy Bible says we must pray for our leaders the author was referring to God-fearing and Godly leaders and not usurpers and tyrants. The Bible says we must ‘resist evil’ and few would dispute the fact that with the economy in shambles, with the naira at its lowest value in its entire history, with the level of impunity and corruption in government and with the amount of brutal persecution, politically-motivated arrests and prosecutions and the massive shedding of innocent blood that goes on in our country today, Buhari and his Federal Government are pure evil.

As a matter of fact they are a cursed government that have come to do nothing but spread death, disease, poverty, tears, hardship, suffering, division, hatred, persecution, injustice, destruction and wickedness. To those that insist that even evil tyrants are worthy of our goodwill and prayers I put the following questions.

Nigerians, Time To Hold Our Leaders Accountable

By Remi Oyeyemi

Like millions of other Nigerians, one is very concerned. One is concerned about the subsisting chaos in our social order. One is concerned about the turbulence in our economic condition. One is worried about the glorification of charlatanism in our political landscape. One is disturbed about the morass of our moral mill. The absence of integrity, the discountenance of dignity, the disrespect of reason and disregard of facts all combine to give one serious concerns about Nigeria.

*Remi Oyeyemi

When one traverses the social media, rummages through the newspapers, and listens to real life experiences of Nigerians, one could feel the concern of Nigerians. From discussions with variety of Nigerians, irrespective of the social, economic and political status, the concerns have been evident. One could fathom that Nigerians wanted solutions to the manifesting myriad of problems. One would come away with the fact that Nigerian are fed up with the situation in the country.

But what is not very clear is how ready are Nigerians of all hue and clime to get off the sidelines and be involved in changing the course of their destinies. Their attitude of believing in a messiah to come around and liberate them might not be the best one given what we have witnessed so far. It is becoming increasingly self evident that Nigerians have to stand up and take control of their destiny by getting off the sidelines.

It is one’s belief that time is now for all of us to get off our laptops, drop our pens, stop complaining and get off the sidelines. It is time for all of us to accept the fact that we are the captains of our souls. Not all of us can be president. Not all of us can be senators. Not all of us can be governors. But certainly all of us can be active participants in the political process. Through our participation we would all be able to work together to forge a new destiny for our country, forge a new country for our children and for the posterity.

“Destiny is not a matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved”  – William Jennings Bryan  

With our active participation as individuals or as members of groups we would be able to decide on the direction of the country and the type of policies that have to be in place. We would be able to hold our leaders accountable. If someone is a local government chairman and he is not able to declare his assets, we would be able to hold him accountable or force him to leave office.  Any councilor that lives beyond his means could be held accountable. House of Assembly members would be forced to be accountable on their stewardship.

The Senators who collect constituency allowance and spend such on their girlfriends would be made to answer questions. Those who become commissioners and live beyond their incomes would have some explanations to do. The political party operatives would not be allowed to get away with deceit and deception. Party platforms and promises would be seriously adhered to. Presidents or governors would not get into the office and deny their promises made during campaigns.  All these could be possible only through mass participation in the political process.

Mass participation is the heart and soul of democracy. It is the life blood of freedom. It is the best check and balance for governance. Mass participation is the best form of holding elected officers accountable. If our elected officers know that we are all paying attention, they would think twice before they steal our commonwealth or engage in any other form of corruption. If our elected officers know that we are informed and very much aware of the way the process works, they would not be able to hold us to ransom or deceive us.

What Other Niger Deltans Must Do

By Sunny Ikhioya

The devastating effects of the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers on the Nigerian economy has made it imperative for the Federal government to reach a compromise with the militants. In fact, the PM News edition of Tuesday 7th June reported the setting up of a committee to discuss with the avengers. The questions that logically crop up from this development are: What will be the basis for discussions? Will the issues cover other Niger Delta ethnic groups? If an agreement is reached with the avengers, will that guarantee peace in the region? Do the authorities really want peace in the region? What must be done to guarantee that?

It is very important for all to know that the Ijaws are not the only ethnic group in the Niger Delta that have oil deposit in their land. The wikipedia source estimates over 40 ethnic groups in the whole region and almost all of them are oil rich and suffer the same degradation of their land as the Ijaws. The Ijaws also, are not the only tribe fighting for the resource control of their land.

The late Ken Saro Wiwa a foremost minority rights activist was of the Ogoni ethnic stock. But the recent militancy of the Ijaw group has made it seem like they are the only oil producing community in the region. The import of their struggle is, if they had remained docile, the federal government and international communities will continue to ignore the degrading conditions in the region. The people of this region have always been hard working and contributed significantly to the economic development of the country at different times in our history.

Long before crude oil came to the fore, it was known as the oil region and European businessmen set up trading posts in different parts of the region. It was known as the oil region because of the predominance of palm oil production. So, the peddlers of the lies that the other regions resources were used to develop the oil businesses in the Niger Delta are only deluding themselves or speak out of ignorance. The Niger Deltans have always been productive but they have never been known to come up with one voice on issues affecting them. It has always been to the advantage of those in authority to keep them fighting amongst themselves through the divide and rule technique.

The Niger Deltans have always been productive but they have never, ever come up with one voice because of the deliberate policy of the federal authorities to keep them apart. It began with the slave traders and later, during colonial times the British continued with it by setting tribes against one another, if it is not through land acquisition, it was deliberate trade decisions that pit one against the other. The federal government of Nigeria continued from where the colonial government stopped and it got to its peak during the civil war, with Chief Obafemi Awolowo as finance minister, the derivation policy for revenue generating communities was reduced to zero.

Even with the glaring pollution and destruction of their land, successive governments have continued to ignore their pitiable plights. You just have to go to the oil producing areas to experience first hand what goes on there. It is genocide through environmental poisoning. Even with their son Goodluck Jonathan as President, the majority ethnic groups rebuffed efforts to bring succour to the oil communities. For example, the Petroleum Industry Bill was killed in the National Assembly, now they have brought out a much toned down version that does not take the communities into consideration. You cannot allow the ‘goose’ that lays the golden eggs to die.