By Ikechukwu Amaechi
On Saturday, September 21, Edo electorate will elect a new governor who will superintend over the affairs of the state in the next four years. In other climes, that is a simple task. Agreed, contestation for power is a serious business not meant for chicken hearted fellas, but the heavy lifting is done out on the hustings, talking to people. On Election Day, the will of the majority expressed through the ballot box prevails.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
What caught my attention when the flyer of the 50th inaugural lecture of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto surfaced in the social media late August was the theme: “The Igbo factor in the history of intergroup relations and commerce in Kano: Opportunities and challenges revisited.”
The lecture, to be delivered by Ahmed Bako, a Kano-born professor of African and Nigerian history, triggered a sense of foreboding instantly because I guessed it would be a voyage in dog whistling, a pastime of ethnic irredentists across the country when dealing with their bête noire – Ndigbo. He proved me right.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
Five days after Comrade Joe Ajaero, former General Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, and Deputy National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, made history as the first NLC President to be elected unopposed at the 13th National Delegates Conference in Abuja, on February 8, 2023, I sat down with him in Lagos for an exclusive interview.
Still basking in the euphoria of his victory, he was hopeful and bullish as he discussed the labour movement, what Nigerians should expect of his presidency and the impending 2023 elections. He was analytical and measured.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
After quelling what, to all intents and purposes, was a peaceful protest by economically challenged Nigerians over insufferable high cost of living, President Bola Tinubu has moved quickly to consolidate his grip on power. Taking a page from the archetypical fascist playbook, he summoned a meeting of the National Council of State, NCS, on Tuesday, to pass a vote of confidence in him and the Council obliged.
For those who may not know, the
NCS idea, which was introduced by General Murtala Muhammed in a broadcast on
July 30, 1975 after overthrowing General Yakubu Gowon, was to create an
advisory body.
“The structure of government has been re-organised. There will now be three organs of government at the federal level namely: The Supreme Military Council, The National Council of State, and the Federal Executive Council,” he said.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
As indicated here last week, the book, Peace Culture: A Monumental Evidence for Global Co-existence, written by Prof Ola Makinwa et al, will be used to shine a light on our offering in this column today. Many have badgered me on why I “ignored” the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protest rocking the country.
The protest, now in its eighth day, has become violent and bloody and the security chiefs are still talking tough meaning that it may even get bloodier in the coming days. On Wednesday night, armed security operatives raided the headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja, popularly called Labour House looking for only God knows what. Such raids will intensify as the government tries to overwhelm Nigerians and stifle dissenting voices.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
The Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, is a cantankerous old fossil – irascible, quarrelsome and testy, no doubt. Whether as a local government chairman, chief of staff, minister or governor, he is bad-tempered, cranky and grouchy; a man not only at war with himself but perpetually with others. This is not the quality of a good leader even if the person is dubbed “Mr. Projects,” whether deserved or otherwise.
Leadership demands a healthy dose of humility. But as governor of Rivers State for eight years, Wike was at war with everyone, abusing all who dared cross his path. With him, every criticism, no matter how constructive is a definite no-no. His entire worldview is governed by the “us against them” mentality and in pursuit of this cock-eyed philosophy of life, he takes no prisoners, which explains why barely two months out of office, he was engaged in a war of attrition with his successor and anointed political godson, Siminalayi Fubara.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
In his 1961 book, The Theatre of the Absurd, Martin Julius Esslin, a Hungarian-born British journalist and professor of drama, lamented what he called absurdism, “the inevitable devaluation of ideals, purity, and purpose.”
Esslin, who died in London,
United Kingdom on February 24, 2002, aged 83 years, couldn’t have had the
oil-rich state of Rivers, Nigeria, in mind when he wrote his famed book 63
years ago.
But nothing captures the state of affairs in Rivers State today more profoundly than Esslin’s “theatre of the absurd”.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
A lot of mischief is going on in the banking sub-sector of Nigeria’s financial ecosystem since the Central Bank of Nigeria, on June 3, 2024, announced the revocation of the banking license of Heritage Bank Plc.
The not so subtle campaign by some faceless groups to demarket an otherwise solid financial institution like the Fidelity Bank Plc., however, has not escaped the attention of the discerning banking publics. But it is a mischief taken too far.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
Nigeria’s president since May 29, 2023 is a man of many parts, talented in
multiple areas of life. As someone who is able to do many different things
almost effortlessly, Nigerians perceive him as a superman – the “ideal superior
man of the future,” as described by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, the 19th
century German philosopher in Thus Spake Zarathustra, “who could rise above
conventional Christian morality to create and impose his own values.”
Notwithstanding, it has become glaring in the 11 months of his presidency that what is still unknown about him far outstrips what people thought they knew. For instance, Nigerians didn’t reckon with his ability to do a disappearing act on them. Again, how could anyone have imagined that Tinubu had the ability to cast a spell on an otherwise vibrant people and turn them into zombies so much so that even in the face of egregious conducts, the people would rather relapse into portentous silence?
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
It is a settled axiom: All bullies are cowards. Hurting and scaring those who are weaker is not bravery and despite their braggadocio, bullies only prey on the weak using aggression and intimidation to cover up their own feelings of inadequacy and fear.
Former Kogi State governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has proven that axiom, once again, to be eternally true. Who would have ever thought that the self-acclaimed ‘White Lion’ will ever be afraid of anything or anybody? In the eight years that he superintended over the affairs of Kogi State, he carried on like an Emperor.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
Lately, Mrs. Aisha Achimugu has been in the news for the wrong reasons. Of course, she disagrees, having already put a damper on that by telling those who think so to take a swim in a crocodile-infested pond for all she cares.
But let us interrogate the
issues to determine who is right.
Mrs. Achimugu, an Abuja-based Nigerian businesswoman, clocked 50 years on January 22, no doubt a milestone age worth celebrating for those so inclined. But in doing that, she went overboard, orchestrating an obscene spectacle.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
Since the Supreme Court reversed the Appeal Court judgements that sacked Kano State Governor, Kabiru Yusuf; Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State; and Zamfara’s Lawal Dauda, many Nigerians, characteristically, have been ululating about how the judiciary has redeemed itself. Those wishing to cut the apex court a bigger slack talk about how the Supreme Court has redeemed the image of the judiciary.
Some have even stretched the inane adulation by claiming, rather ludicrously, that the verdicts are a veritable proof of President Bola Tinubu’s democratic credentials because it must take the non-interference of the president for the judiciary, a supposedly independent arm of government, to do the needful.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
Dr Betta Edu, the vivacious and chirpy politician from Cross River State, must be introspecting now. Just yesterday, she had the world at her feet, literally, and Nigeria was her oyster, where, it seemed, she could achieve anything she wished.
And she achieved a lot. Born October 27, 1986, Betta chalked up incredible attainments in only 37 years. Right from the time she completed her secondary education in 2001 at the Federal Government Girls College, Calabar and obtained her first degree in medicine and surgery from the University of Calabar in 2009, her rise to super stardom has been incredible.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
As Nigeria’s political elites continue to fool around in Rivers State pretending to be preferring solution to self-inflicted political wound, it is refreshing to see groups celebrating excellence, merit and competence in a country where mediocrity and absolute lack of character have become the keys that unlock high public offices.
That was exactly what Aka Ikenga did on Sunday, December 17 when members held the 2023 end of the year get-together which has been the tradition since the think-tank organisation of Igbo intelligentsia and professionals who are committed to the vision of an egalitarian Nigerian society based on the rule of law, equity and fairness for all Nigerians, debuted in 1989.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
In recent times, I have asked myself why anyone should bother about Nigeria since no matter how hard you try, evil still triumphs.
For the first time in recent history, Nigerians from all walks of life, having agreed that military rule was an aberration, and their hopes buoyed by the assurances of the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, that their votes in the 2023 elections will not only be counted but will count in determining who superintends over their affairs, came out in their numbers to make a difference.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
Obviously, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Mahmoud Yakabu, must be in love with the sound of his own voice. That is why he keeps blabbing even when no one is listening.
He is, once again, playing the
game he knows how best – lying to himself and taking Nigerians for a ride. In
doing that, he probably thinks he is fooling the people.
But he never reckons with the admonition of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, who once said: “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
On Thursday, October 26, the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, NIIA, Nigeria’s foremost think-tank on foreign affairs, will host the 2023 edition of TheNiche Annual Lecture spearheaded by the TheNiche Foundation for Development Journalism.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
Many “experts” on Igbo affairs who claim to know everything about the people than Ndigbo know about themselves abound in Nigeria. And one of the ridiculous tales they bandy about when it suits them is that Ndigbo have neither the capacity to come together, nor agree on anything. “They can never speak with one voice,” they pontificate in their desperation to ridicule an entire race even as they also accuse the same people of being clannish, apparently oblivious of the oxymoron.
But there is absolutely no basis for such a claptrap. Yes, Ndigbo may be republican in their worldview but enlightened collective-interest comes in to aggregate those differences in opinion in situations of existential crisis such as they are facing now. That was exactly what happened in Owerri, Imo State capital, on September 28 and 29 when they gathered for the consequential South-East summit on security and economy.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
In the last four months since Bola Tinubu became Nigeria’s president, many Nigerians have watched in utter horror as the administration continues to fumble. The missteps are simply unacceptable, more so for a government that claims to be on a self-assigned mission of renewing the hope of longsuffering citizens. But I doubt if any discerning Nigerian is surprised at the embarrassing slipups and gaffes. In fact, what would have been surprising is a situation where Tinubu, in Aso Rock, levels with Nigerians.
It is in the character of those who are presently allocating the country’s collective values, authoritatively, to deploy propaganda and lies in governance. To them subterfuge and outright sleight of the hand are legitimate governance tools. But are they? I daresay they are not because government propaganda threatens democratic self-governance. In other words, it is an enemy of democracy.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
The title of this article, I must confess, is not original to me. It is the theme of the South-East Summit on Economy and Security which is scheduled to hold in Owerri, Imo State, next week. There couldn’t have been a better time or even a better theme for the Summit. Ndigbo are at a socio-economic and political crossroads in Nigeria and crucial decisions with far-reaching consequences have become inevitable.
The idea of the Summit, therefore, is to galvanise Ndigbo, a people hitherto proud of their heritage, but who seem to have lost their sagacity in the face of debilitating national conspiracy, to look inwards to harness their inner strengths and abundant resources in order to reshape their collective destiny. A new trajectory has become imperative.
