Two Easiest Jobs In Nigeria

By Paul Onomuakpokpo

Despite the varied perfidy that sullied the recent elections, they are not irredeemably impaired after all. They have provided us with some vital lessons to navigate our labyrinthine political space. Clearly, they have once again jarred us into the consciousness of our seemingly indissoluble deficit in political enlightenment. 

It is such a societal malaise that propels the citizens to cast their votes without knowing the explicit reason they are doing this. In their minds, these remain unresolved posers: Is it really for the vote-buying lucre that is transacted far from the prying eyes of other citizens? Is it on account of the candidate’s past performance either in private or public offices that redounded to the well-being of the citizens?

Musings On President Buhari’s Eldorado

By Paul Onomuakpokpo

By not preceding his quest for re-election with an apology for his current poor performance, President Muhammadu Buhari has taken the citizens he is seeking their votes for granted. His is a campaign driven by the notion of the citizens as not being discerning enough to know what is right for them. Buhari and his party are propelled by the illusion that the political enlightenment of the majority of the voters is still at an inchoate stage. 

*Buhari 

Buhari would only realise the falsity of this notion when he has been sent back to Daura. In Daura, he would rue his not taking cognisance of the fact that it was the same voters whom former President Goodluck Jonathan and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) disdained by not living up to their expectations who sent them out of Aso Rock.

President Buhari, Let IGP Idris Go Home!

By Paul Onomuakpokpo

If the President Muhammadu Buhari government’s patent obsession with plumbing the depths of cronyism gains fresh expression in the extension of the tenure of Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris, it would not really be a source of shock to the citizens. By January next year, Idris would have put in 35 years of service and thus by his terms of employment he should quit the police. But the suspicion is rife that Buhari would extend his tenure. Such suspicion may not be unfounded. After all, that was how Buhari extended the tenures of the nation’s service chiefs last year when they were supposed to retire.

*Buhari and Idris

The tragedy of these extensions is that they are not reflective of exemplary services that render the beneficiaries indispensable. No, what has become clear is that they are actuated by a desire to cater for the dark motives of the Buhari government. Or why is multi-faceted damage often inflicted in the course of prosecuting these extensions? Consider these: officers in whom the nation has invested so much in terms of professional training are often retired prematurely.

Nigeria: A Requiem For The Lifeless One

By Femi Fani-Kayode

”A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping. Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they are no more”- Jeremiah 31:15.

O lifeless one, you have lost all sense of decency and you are drunk with power.

As the children are murdered in cold blood and cut short in the streets of Abuja by your soldiers you watch silently from a distance: smug, smiling, detached, indifferent and secretly egging the killers on.

President Buhari, Leah, Hauwa And Other Hostages

By Paul Onomuakpokpo

With the murder of Hauwa Liman, we have once again been starkly reminded of our lack of governmental bulwark against the savagery of those who are unmoored from all legal and moral boundaries in our midst.

*Leah Sharibu

Yes, it is only a reminder. Successive governments have abandoned the citizens in a gruelling struggle with their challenges. But the battle for daily survival only becomes more tormenting with the lurking reminder that these challenges are not just existential; they are unconscionably inflicted by a pestilential leadership deficit. Now, consider this: Despite the billions of dollars that are yearly voted by the government for electricity, security and other forms of infrastructural development, the citizens are saddled with the responsibility of providing these for themselves. 

Nigeria: Before Backing Atiku

By Paul Onomuakpokpo

Since we seem fated to chafe under the carapace of duplicitous politicians, we are justifiably cynical about their promises. In their desperation to get power, politicians harangue us with these promises in varied shades. But there is often that lurking caution that we should treat these promises as mere hallucinations of people who flay at anything in sight to assuage their hunger for power.

*Atiku Abubakar 

Yet, how do we measure the authenticity of our politicians if we accept as a given that politics is not a site of credibility? How do we align with the self-immolating notion that politicians are free to live in a world that is divorced from the reality of the rest of the citizens? We should not rule out the possibility that it is politicians who do not want to meet the demands of their offices but want us to take them seriously who are the purveyors of the expectation to gloss over the tragedy of the violation of their promises. 

The Bigger Picture In Ekiti Governorship Contest

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

A day after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Dr. Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the July 14, 2018, governorship election in Ekiti State, a video of Fulani herdsmen brazenly parading their cows on the streets of Ado-Ekiti went viral on the social media. Reports say the video was shared on Facebook by one Isaac, the younger brother of Mr. Peter Ayodele Fayose, the outgoing governor of the state. 

*Fayemi and Fayose 

In a comment accompanying the video (reproduced unedited), the younger Fayose wrote: “Fayemi was rigged in on Saturday against the wish of Ekiti people. Today, Fulani herdsmen have the boldness to rear cow on the street of Ado Ekiti. This is pathetic! This is scary. I pity Ekiti and her people!” 

Femi Fani-Kayode, Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB And Other Victims Of Oppression

By Jude Ndukwe

 I read with derision the infantile missive of one Churchill Okonkwo which he mischievously titled “FFK Stabbed Nnamdi Kanu, Betrayed IPOB and Kissed Kwankwaso” which was published in Sahara Reporters of August 3, 2018. It is unfortunate that in attempt to score cheap points, use FFK’s famous name to climb to momentary limelight and satisfy his paymasters, Churchill vitiated the seriousness of the struggle of IPOB and reduced it to mere politics out of the need to satisfy his hirers.

*Nnamdi Kanu and Femi Fani-Kayode 

  I would have ignored him but then on a second thought, what does it take to enlighten an ignoramus of Churchill’s status. Let me start by making it clear from the outset that IPOB’s struggle is not hatred for the Fulani, it will amount to reducing the noble struggle of IPOB for freedom and justice to hatred for the Fulani or any other tribe for that matter just like Churchill alluded to in that unfortunate essay of his.

The Coward Called Godswill Akpabio

By Femi Fani-Kayode

"You remain the father of the nation, our father and political father to all. Just like I told Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Osinbanjo yesterday in Nigeria... Those who think that they have politically grown to insult you will all regret it before month end sir. I am here (London) to register my undiluted love and unalloyed support to you. I was involved in all their meetings and I know what their plans are. The long recess of NASS is going to be your advantage and not theirs like they thought and planned"

— Senator Godswill Akpabio to President Muhammadu Buhari.

*Akpabio and Buhari in London 

Those that do not have the courage of their convictions and that do not have the guts to stand against tyranny when under fire are not worthy of being called men: they are little better than beasts.

The fact that the former Governor of Akwa Ibom, Senator Godswill Akpabio, is a coward and a traitor is no longer in dispute. The fact that his brazen treachery knows no bounds is what can best be described as "settled law".

Nigeria: Another Paradise Just Lost

By Abraham Ogbodo

I apologize for the rude exit. When one friend called to find out what happened to Backlash, I told him the bitter truth. I was tired of pushing positions that had not drawn down on President Buhari’s nepotism, tyranny and cluelessness on one hand and enhanced his statesmanship, democratic credentials and capacity to govern well on the other hand.

*President Buhari 

 My last appearance on this page was on April 15. Since then, the degeneration in national life has continued unabated. In fact, the bizarre has become the norm. Yet, the purpose today after the break is not to give any good news. It is to reinforce the futility in expecting a reversal in the narrative of negativity. I apologize for increasing your worries.

Nigeria Needs Another Mandela

By Emeka Nwachukwu

Nigeria, Africa’s largest producer of oil is endowed with enormous natural and human resources of over 180 million people – sufficient to place it among the first 20 developed countries of the world. But this is not so. Why?

Obviously, the nation has not been lucky enough to have dignified cum patriotic leaders who are committed to the needs of their citizens, besides enriching themselves, to the fullest, until their cups ‘runneth’ over at the expense of the poor suffering masses.

*Late Nelson Mandela 

This has kept citizens sweltered because despite the nation’s huge resource endowment, majority of its citizenry are subjected to abject poverty while unemployment and insecurity are growing faster than the economy. Currently under the administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led President Muhammadu Buhari, the nation seems to be at its worst in terms of insecurity with the increasing number of lost of lives in the North East attributable to attacks by herdsmen and terrorists.

Bola Tinubu’s Breathtaking Hypocrisy

By Shaka Momodu

When last February President Muhammadu Buhari saddled the former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, with the task of reconciling all aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) across the country, I scoffed at the idea and stated then that it was a futile exercise. The reasons were not far-fetched: Buhari by his actions had no genuine desire at reconciling the party members; with Tinubu as the chief aggrieved member, leading such efforts was a misnomer because he needed to be reconciled with some of the party members. I predicted that by the end of his brief, the party would be more divided than before. 

*Bola Tinubu 

Barely two weeks after Tinubu’s peace committee was inaugurated, crisis rocking the Kaduna State chapter of the APC, took a turn for the worse after a building located in the heart of Kaduna city, belonging to a leader of one of the two factions, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, was demolished by the state government. Tinubu’s committee said nothing publicly about such intolerant behaviour on the part of the state governor. That it happened after Tinubu’s supposed reconciliation committee was set up showed the disregard party members had for it. 

President Buhari, End These Killings Now!

By Folaranmi Adegbite

“My father, my mother, my wife, our four children were shot, killed and burnt.”

This cry of horror by a survivor of the Fulani herdsmen massacre of innocent people in Plateau State calls to question the sincerity or competence of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari to provide security for Nigerians. President Buhari during his campaign for 2015 Presidential Election promises to improve on fragile security in the land then among other campaign promises. 

*President Buhari 

However, since his coming to power, we cannot say that the nation has had a relief from insecurity. All his efforts and that of his service chiefs are like taken one step forward and two backward which leads to nowhere in particular.

In fairness to Buhari, the killings in Nigeria predated his administration. Whether killings by Boko Haram, insurgents, Fulani herdsmen, or ethic militants all these have been happening before Buhari came to power.

Carnage And Poverty As National Tragedies

By Sufuyan Ojeifo

Two existential issues – security and poverty- that bear great relevance to the assessment of performance of governments globally reared their heads back-to-back, last week, in Nigeria. Both issues were so tangible that they could not escape essential appraisal and indictment.

While the carnage in Bakin Ladi local government area of Plateau State on June 23, 2018 was so self-evident such that it could not be denied by the Federal Government, the Brookings report that Nigeria has overtaken India as the global poverty capital has been rebutted by government through the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah. 

Nigeria: Descending To Slaughter Land

By Adeniyi kikelomo Evelyn

Nigeria, our once beautiful country has been transformed into the playground of evil minded and uncouth individuals who have taken immense advantage of our poorly managed and weak security. If you like, call it shameful. Citizens of Nigeria are being pushed out of their homes, villages and forced to abandon their heritage due to the lackadaisical, deceptive and compromised stands of the government towards the safety of the people which should be the constitutional privilege of the citizens.

A few days ago Plateau State was thrown into an uproar once again as some villages were attacked for 48 hours. 48 Hours! At this period of many hours, one wonders what our security agencies were doing before and during the attack. Have they negated their sniffing assignment or slept on their active watch? I believe no excuse is plausible for this dastardly act and seemingly permissive genocide.

For The Sake Of Our Nation, Nigeria

By Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie

For the sake of our nation exposed to insecurity by absence of governance, the time has come for us to differentiate between a political jobber and a statesman. A political jobber is a merchant who buys and sells loyalty in order to be in power. He does not care about the morality of his means.

*Cardinal Okogie 

He would, therefore, do everything to win an election or be declared the winner. His sole and ultimate objective is access to power and to the perks of office. But the ultimate aim of a statesman is not power. It is service of the common good. And even if he plans to win an election, he does not transgress the boundaries of morality. He is fair in running for office and fair in running the office. He works for the good of the nation and for the good of its citizens.

President Buhari Or Herdsman Buhari?

By Paul Onomuakpokpo

Having not suffered any traumatic dilemma over his overweening loyalty to herdsmen who are his fellow Fulani, President Muhammadu Buhari is oblivious of his rapid erasure as a statesman. Or if he is aware, he is not bothered about the grim verdict of history – here was a president of a great nation who ended as a leader of a segment of the country, Fulani herdsmen. 

*President Buhari (pix: African Herald Express)

Yes, we must discountenance Buhari’s sense of justice that seeks to exculpate him from the tragedies being unleashed by Fulani herdsmen. He vouchsafed this notion of justice during his visit to Plateau after the Fulani herdsmen’s attacks whose death toll has been officially put at 135 while witnesses claim it is over 200. He wondered why he should be accused of being silent over the now perennial massacres.

Nigeria: Toxic Request On Anti-Grazing Bill

By Adewale Kupoluyi

Many Nigerians were greatly disturbed by the hasty decision suggesting that anti-grazing bills, as operational in some states in the country, should be repealed. The Minister of Defence, Brig-Gen. Mansur Dan-Ali (rtd), had spear-headed the abrogation move, arguing that laws enacted by states prohibiting open grazing should be suspended. Dan-Ali had called for the suspension of the implementation of anti-grazing laws in some states while instead negotiating safe routes for herders. For the Defence Minister, suspension of the law would reduce tension and restore peace in the country.

The Anti-Open Grazing Law seeks to outlaw open rearing and grazing of livestock and provides for the establishment of ranches and livestock administration, wherever the law is operational. It is currently being used in Benue, Ekiti and Taraba states. Abia is working on the passage of the bill. In Ekiti, the law prohibits open grazing between the hours of 6pm and 7am. In Benue, it enforces an absolute ban on open-grazing throughout the state and in Taraba, there is a proviso that it would be implemented gradually after massive enlightenment and awareness campaigns across the state. The legislation further prohibits movement of livestock and requires livestock owners to ranch them by criminalising free grazing and movement of livestock by foot. The implication of this is that the law seeks to end the age-long practice of nomadism, particularly, among the Fulani herders, whose activities in recent times have heightened violent clashes with farmers in many states across the country.

Nigeria: Herdsmen’s Endless Blood Lust (1)

By Lewis Obi 

“The moment the prerogative of violence slips away the hands of government into an unknown body, there is no government into an unkown body, there is no government … we have been challenged with Boko Haram for so long and now it is (the) so called herdsmen…”  

     – Dr.Ahmadu Ali, former Education Minister, ex-PDP Chairman.

The unnerving part of the current herdsmen blood lust is its regularity.  It is impossible to open the pages of a newspaper without a hair-raising report in one part of the country or another.  When it is not about a man butchered to death in his farm in Delta State, it is the night invasion by the herdsmen of a rural community in Benue State, suddenly awakened from sleep by gunfire, then the pandemonium, the flight of the villagers, and the burning of their homes.  Overnight they have become homeless, in need of security, a shelter and sustenance.  These are exactly what rural folks dread.  They don’t want to depend on charity; they work all the time and are tied to the land. 

Nigeria And The Silent Majority

By Simon Abah

The founder of this newspaper refused to be silent in the face of governmental-wrong, even when a despot thought it best to cashier him on the long questing route for peace. In spite of his exit to the land of permanent silence years after, his newsprint has maintained its streak of excellence, it publishes well researched materials and avoids sycophantic news reporting, is wholly and strictly without fail, a national paper which approbates to no region or individuals.

I wish Nigerians aren’t known for silence in the face of wrong and tackle governmental persons for accountability, for nationalism. If this were the case, the politicians from the regions where these herdsmen come from would have been pushed into taking action with governments to end the barbarity, after all cattle rearing, established as a thriving economy for herdsmen with a substantial workforce, servicing the whole country wouldn’t be considered positive if brigands go about killing people in whatever guise.