Social Media Regulation Bill – SERAP Seeks UN Intervention

Press Release 

“We are seriously concerned that the National Assembly of Nigeria will any moment from now pass a bill to jail for two years and fine anybody or group of persons who send any alleged false text message or post false message on the social media against another person.

“SERAP is concerned that rather than increasing universal and inclusive access to the Internet for all Nigerians, the National Assembly of Nigeria is working to undermine access of citizens to the Internet. Yet, freedom of expression entails the ability to both speak and receive information, including through the social media and other generated content services such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and chat applications,”

“By initiating this bill, the National Assembly is impermissibly restricting the ability of the citizens to use these tools to communicate, connect, and seek independent sources of information.”

“SERAP also contends that the bill will restrain access to internet and social media, curtail the freedom of the press, and online content in illegitimate, disproportionate, or otherwise unlawful and abusive ways. The real targets of the bill are social media and human rights defenders that might be critical of government policies or report on corruption involving high ranking government officials,”

Adamawa: Travails of An Anti-corruption Lawmaker

Maliki Salaudeen

To say that President Muhammadu Buhari came to power on the wings of his anti-corruption credentials is simply stating the obvious. And that the All Progressive Congress (APC) party swept majority of the governorship seats on account of the change mantra of the party is equally not contestable. What is however a subject of contention is whether some of the party’s governors are still on the same page with the president in his avowed determination to clean the nation’s Augean stable.

* Jibrila Mohammadu Bindow

Today, in Adamawa State, a cruel drama of sorts is currently playing out, which if not urgently nipped in the bud, has all the potentials of negating President Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade. What makes the entire scenario alarmingly worrisome is the fact that the state is being governed by an APC governor, Sen. Bindow Umar Jibrila.

Allegations are rife in the state that the governor is currently pilfering the resources of the state with abominable perfidy under the guise of executing sundry projects, a development  Abdurrahman Abubakar Isa, a member representing Mubi South constituency in the State House of Assembly, has been vehemently kicking against, which in turn has drawn the ire of the governor. For his insistence that things be done in a proper manner in line with the twin principles of transparency and accountability, Abubakar Isa is today being barbecued on a smoldering fire of victimization.

The genesis of the current face-off between the governor and Isa stemmed from the former’s submission of a document dated 28th October, 2015 to the State House of Assembly titled ‘’Re-Submission of Detail Areas of Virement in the 2015 Revised Budget’’, which in reality was a request for new capital projects and not projects already contained in the earlier Appropriation Law. This did not go down well with Isa, who happened to be the Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Budget and Appropriation, as he rightly insisted that ‘’the only way new projects can be captured in the budget after passage of the Appropriation Law is by a supplementary appropriation bill duly passed by the House’’.

Buhari: How Prepared Is This Absentee President?

By Immanuel Igwu

Within six months of inauguration, the man Nigerians elected in a historic voter revolution has created an alarming pattern of absenteeism. President Muhammadu Buhari, who is hyped as an orator of ‘’body language’’, has been voting with his feet since May 29, 2015.

*Yet another goodbye to Nigeria

An audit of his overseas travel shows that, so far, he has accumulated more than forty days and forty nights of elopement!

Though Buhari begged for and received from Nigerians a clear mandate to help break the free fall of a nation that is disappearing into an economic abyss, a Nigeria that offers the world one of the most frequent and highest death tolls due to terrorist attacks, he shows that he can hardly afford the discipline of sitting down long enough to master the desperate emergencies of the nation.

With the recurring image of a lanky, bespectacled man standing at the door of the presidential aircraft, waving and waving an umpteenth good bye, Buhari has literally compelled the discerning to cotton up to the fact that he would rather go elsewhere than fulfill the sedentary lion-share of his job!

Time is the easiest to calculate aspect of Buhari’s wanderlust: By checking his itinerary and adding small numbers, one can determine that our brand new leader has notched a month plus stay abroad. The monetary cost is different: It is hidden. Nigerian taxpayers do not know the irreducible minimum amount of their money that grows wings whenever he leaves the Nigerian airspace in his presidential glory.

The Magnitude Of Corruption In Ghana

By Nana Akwah

It must be our ultimatum duty to uphold the fighting of tigers and flies at the same time, resolutely investigating law-breaking cases of leading officials and also to a great extent willing to resolve the abnormal and harmful inclinations and corruption problems which happen all around people.

*John Dramani Mahama

The economy of Ghana is at its worst since it independence. Most of our people poor and they are wallowing in stark poverty and starving on account of the expensive consumer goods.

Basic commodities prices are always on the increase however wages for workers still remain. It is inhumane and unfair for all the hardships the people are going through. All basic needs are continually increasing and the present NDC government is not taking actions but to corrupt!

The economy is down owing to corruption as it is very rampant at high places. The problem with our society is that we can not absolve ourselves from the evil practice. Almost the entire country is caught up in the menace as we find ways to engage in the act.

I sincerely believe that most people will fall prey or get compromised if they had chance to get to the position where they have access. I could vouch that about 75 percent of the people are compromised. Although corruption could be said to be very prevalent among the citizens however, it very sickening to observe the profligacy exhibited by these officials. The least said of them the better.

IPOB Protests: We Will Not Tolerate Any Breach Of Peace Under Any Guise – Gov Obiano Warns

Text Of Broadcast By Gov Willie Obiano Of Anambra On The Evening Of Wednesday, December 2, 2015 

“My beloved people of Anambra State, I wish to address you on the on-going protest staged in Onitsha by the members of the Indigenous People of Biafra and MASSOB.

“The government of Anambra State has been monitoring developments and is greatly concerned about the security of lives and property of residents and visitors to the state. As your Governor and Chief Security Officer of the state, I am compelled to act to avert any likely breakdown of law and order. In all situations, the preservation of human life comes first and I am determined to enforce that.

“Since the inception of my administration, we have made the security of lives and property our priority and we are not going to compromise on that. I, therefore, sincerely appeal to members of the IPOB, MASSOB and other aggrieved groups and individuals to maintain the peace and resist any attempt by hoodlums to take advantage of the situation and destabilize any part of Anambra State.

“I am in constant touch with all the security agencies in the state to ensure that what has otherwise been a peaceful protest is not hijacked by trouble makers. All mischief makers are hereby warned to keep off as we will not tolerate any breach of peace under any guise or pretext. You are seriously warned! I therefore wish to assure Ndi Anambra and all visitors to the state to go about their normal businesses peacefully as the security agencies are on top of the situation to preserve law and order.”

Gov Oshiomole’s Unconscionable Campaign Of Lies Against Me – Okonjo-Iweala

PRESS RELEASE 

Former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has requested the Federal Government to call Edo State Governor, Mr Adams Oshiomhole to order over the Governor’s recent efforts to link her name to the alleged $2.1 billion arms issue.

The Minister stressed that she has absolutely nothing to do with the issue.

*Dr. Okonjo-Iweala and Gov Adams Oshiomole 

She stated that it is an abuse of public office, the judicial process and her human rights for Governor Oshiomhole whom she stopped from taking a highly suspicious N15 billion loan to make false allegations against her while hiding behind the constitutional immunity granted state governors.

As recently confirmed by the Debt Management Office, professional analysis showed that Oshiomhole’s loan request which was based on using low interest World Bank loan to offset high interest commercial loans would have left Edo state with a heavy debt burden and the the state would have found it very difficult to pay back.

MTN Office In Lagos Attacked By Angry Subscribers

The Bode Thomas Street office of the MTN in Surulere, Lagos, was this afternoon attacked by angry customers who complained that the telecommunication company has for several weeks now continued to block their mobile phone lines.  The company had to invite armed policemen who rushed to the scene to arrest the situation.

A customer who was among the now reduced crowd still standing there about 3.00 pm when our correspondent got to the scene claimed that the police shot teargas at the angry protesters to disperse them. Shattered door glasses indicated that the customers indeed became uncontrollable and violent. One of the policemen said a car also received the wrath of the angry customers.  

The staff had to close for the day, while the armed policemen told visitors to return the next day.   

Some customers claimed that when their lines were first blocked, they had rushed to the MTN office, and after staying on the queue for several hours, they were able to get them reconnected. But to their shock, the lines were disconnected a few days later.

“This is the fifth time I am coming here to re-register my line, and they have continued to disconnect me only days after each visit,” a visibly angry customer told our correspondent who was paying his second visit to the office to have his own line reconnected.

Where Are The Chibok Campaigners?

By Amanze Obi

Some 584 days ago, something called Chibok crept into the Nigerian lexicon. We were told that a certain sleepy town in Borno State that goes by that name had been invaded by Boko Haram terrorists. The gist of the strange tale was that over 200 schoolgirls had been ab­ducted from a secondary school in the town.

 The story, strange as it was, bore the ring of the familiar. It was in line with what had become almost customary – the daily invasion of northern enclaves by Boko Haram insurgents. Consequently, government, as it appeared then, did not take exception to it. Be­sides, the story resonated more with theory. How did the abduction take place? Where were the authorities of the school when it happened? What about the Nigerian security network that operated in the North East? Did they, by any means, know something about the famed abduction?

 Answers to these questions did not come handy. They were far to seek. Because this was the case, the government of the day, which was honed in by its effort to establish the truth of the matter, was not quick to respond to the abduction story.

That was the period of high wire politics. It was a pe­riod when the Jonathan presidency was encircled by a web of conspiracy but which was hardly obvious to the president himself.

 While the president groped in the dark, the conspirators had a field day. They tightened the noose around his neck. And so, because the Jona­than presidency was not seeing clearly, opposite people seized the stage. They went to the roof tops with the story of the abduction. Then the international media took over from them. And before long, the government of the day was crippled by the story of the abduction.

On The Just Concluded West African Power Industry Convention 2015: Matters Arising (2)

Idowu Oyebanjo

The event was a sure delight and the organizers, SPintelligent, did a good job but the most regrettable part was the conspicuous absence of representatives of NERC, the industry regulator, and members of the newly formed Nigerian Electricity Consumers’ forum. To say the least, this was disappointing as most of the discussions centred-on and around matters relating to these two entities. However, it was nice to have other key stakeholders like NBET, CBN, local Banks, the Ministry of Power and representatives from network operators.

A major drawback of the privatisation process according to fresh claims by the  investors is the fact that they were unable to have access to the asset before taking ownership. This simply means they were unprepared for the job. No one will invest huge amount of money in a business of this scale (going by the amount of money they had to pay) and not insist on carrying out due diligence. This is why the process is facing many challenges from network delivery point of view. Discos especially have claimed that the network asset are largely dilapidated than they ever imagined and the inherited staff lack requisite skills and attitude to turn the situation around. Enough of rhetorics! we must say. Government no-doubt will have to provide intervention as recommended in part 1 of these series. A key highlight was the acceptance by the network operators of responsibility of failing to meter customers who have paid for such under the CAPMI scheme.

It is important for all customers to be metered in line with earlier suggestions. The networks need rejigging to be able to consolidate the gains of the reform process. As we speak, even if we have increased generation, the transmission network is unable to carry the electricity produced successfully. Technically speaking, this leaves no room for discussions around cost reflective tariff (CRT). Representatives of TCN lamented the spate of bureaucracy and cutting of “transmission” budget by the National Assembly as the root cause of the problem. In general, inefficiency, corruption and lack of skilled manpower have made it practically impossible to improve the net transmission capacity of TCN network in the last 2 decades. In this regard, Dr Reuben Okeke, DG NAPTIN, reiterated that the structured training program within the former PHCN was stopped 22 years ago until government revamped the department in 2009 by establishing NAPTIN, the national power training institution.

Electing A Dictator – A Major Drawback For Nigeria’s Democracy

By Lloyd Ukwu

Prelude:

The problem with dictatorship is that it usually lacks the capacity and patience to understand the meaning of the rule of law and due process. Both doctrines are often slow and therefore require patience. Dictators don’t have patience, they want it here, now and by any means necessary. 

 In 1984, Muhammadu Buhari overthrew the democratically elected government of President Shehu Shagari. It is true that every coup plotter is guilty of breaching the Nigerian constitution and shooting his way into power. But arguably, unlike Ibrahim Babangida that overthrew a military junta, Buhari’s offense was more egregious because he overthrew a democratically elected government – an expression of the collective will of Nigerians. In his false feeling of importance, Buhari has always believed in his messianic mission. He thinks that he knows it all, and that, unlike any other Nigerian, he knows what is best for Nigeria. His twisted sense of superiority and inordinate craving for power found expression in his 1984 coup and his subsequent, repeated run for the presidency. Before he finally won in 2015, he had been defeated in three earlier presidential elections. 

On his third defeat, he broke down and wept in public, an action that would have ended his political career if he were an American politician. Politicians hardly weep in America. To me, that unrestrained public effusion of tears signified his utter desperation for power. His frequent threats to Nigerians were also indicative of his excessive hunger for power. 

After he lost the 2011 presidential election, he made his threats; vowing to make Nigeria ungovernable. And true to his word, he attempted to make Nigeria ungovernable. Through his Boko Haram connection, he unleashed terror on Nigeria. Some say that if Buhari had no relationship with Boko Haram, why did the terrorist group nominate him as one of its negotiators? And before the 2015 election, he threatened to spill blood and cause mayhem if he loses the election. Unfortunately, in 2015, Nigerians buckled under Buhari’s threats and shenanigans, and elected a dictator-president. 

Turkish Airlines, Why?

By Stephen Atta Owusu

 I was always skeptical about flying to Ghana on Turkish Airlines. Many things have been said about the airline. It is commonly known that transit in Istanbul sometimes took about 24 hours and passengers had to spend a night in a hotel. I also felt that Turkey was so close to Iraq, and that the long standing dispute between Iraq and the Turkish Kurds could suddenly spark off terrorism which could affect planes flying from Turkey.

All these things frightened me and I always said to myself never to fly Turkish Airlines. This year, at the time I was about to travel to Ghana, Turkish Airlines happened to have the cheapest rates of all the airlines I checked. I was tempted and decided to give them a try.

A bit of facts about Turkey: They have been trying hard to be counted among the developed countries of Europe and want to join the EU. They hype their achievements and one of their prides is Turkish Airlines. They have advertisements in major international media saying how good the Airline is and the awards they have received.

Some major footballers in the world have appeared on some of these ads. One popular and funny one pits Drogba against Messi in an epic food battle featuring many exotic dishes served on the airline which you are not likely to get on the Accra journey. It is evident in my personal opinion that what they say in these ads did not meet up with their services as I experienced when I travelled in their aircraft to Ghana. I get the impression that they have different and better services to the developed world but poorer services to the third world.

Through inefficient management of the Airline or absolute and deliberate corruption, Ghana Airways collapsed never to rise again. Ghanaians have been travelling very much with airlines which are better known to them, and these are: British Airways, KLM and Lufthansa. These companies use huge aircrafts for long distance journeys. These are wide-bodied passenger jet airliners.

The article will mainly be talking about Turkish Airlines and the uncomfortable treatment meted out to passengers travelling to Ghana. In July there was an urgent need for me to travel to Ghana. Since their rates were some thirty percent lower than the next cheapest airline, I chose to travel with them for the first time despite the mixed feelings and suspicions I have for the airline. The plane left very early in the morning and we were to transit in Istanbul. The immigration process was simple and waiting period to board another plane to Accra was just three hours.

Pursue Justice, Not Retribution – American Lawyer Tells Buhari In An Open Letter

President Muhammadu Buhari

Aso Rock, Abuja Nigeria

Dear President Buhari:

When you visited the United States Institute of Peace last July, you pledged that you would be "fair, just and scrupulously follow due process and the rule of law, as enshrined in [the Nigerian] constitution" in prosecuting corruption.

Such loftiness is laudable. As the Bible instructs in Amos 5:24: "[L]et justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." 

But to be just, the law must be evenhanded. It cannot, in the manner of Russian President Vladimir Putin, be something that is given to punish your enemies and withheld to favor your friends. If so, the law becomes an instrument of injustice bearing earmarks of the wicked rather than the good.

In the United States, you declared a policy of "zero tolerance" against corruption. You solicited weapons and other assistance from the United States government based on that avowal. But were you sincere?

During your election campaign, you promised widespread amnesty, not zero tolerance. You elaborated: "Whoever that is indicted of corruption between 1999 to the time of swearing-in would be pardoned. I am going to draw a line, anybody who involved himself in corruption after I assume office, will face the music."

After you were inaugurated, however, you disowned your statement and declared you would prosecute past ministers or other officials for corruption or fraud. And then again you immediately hedged. You were reminded of your dubious past by former Major General and President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, who succeeded your military dictatorship. He released this statement:

APC: Always Snatching Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory!

By Benjamin Obiajulu Aduba

This party, APC, has this habit of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Every time.

1.   It won a clear victory during the presidential election with overwhelming support from all segments of Nigeria with the possible exception of SE/SS. World leaders praised the new APC president and saw a new and different Nigeria. His stock rose beyond the clouds.

*Tinubu and Buhari 

For four long months he could not form a government; made no speeches on the direction he would take the country to; was unable to present the legislature any supplementary budget; resorted to dictatorship by being a sole administrator; gave an unrealistic time frame for defeating Boko Haram (December 31, 2015), was unable to articulate his foreign policy as he addressed an empty United Nations Assembly; performed miserably in press conferences he had; demonstrated lack of knowledge as he could not tell which country is governed by Ms. Angela Merkel or what title she holds; showed that he was not aware that the Soviet Union no longer exists; etc. It was a complete failure each time he went abroad. The APC executive failed even before he started. They snatched defeat from the jaws of victory

2.   If the executive was struggling to find its footing, the legislature was seen flat on its face. They had no clue when the inaugural meeting of the legislature was scheduled and so all but a handful were present when the Senate and House was called to order; and not present as congressional elections were conducted and therefore left open to seasoned PDP to impose officers on the majority. Thus the Senate and House leadership became a 50/50 sharing of senior offices for APC and PDP. When they realized that the animals have been late out of the gate the party started playing immature games and bickering and making self-destructive moves. The legislature like the executive snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

3.   As if the failures of the Executive and the Legislature were not enough, the ineptitude has now carried over to Kogi State. The unfortunate death of Mr. Audu so close to the election called for a leadership that is quick on its feet, but the party was/is led by a giant with clay feet. A good leader could have quickly found a substitute gubernatorial candidate or tried to stop INEC from proceeding with the election. A court action could have bought them some time to find another candidate, but the brainless, inept APC sat on her hands and an election was conducted. But their candidate was dead and only the living can be elected.

President Mugabe Clamps Down On Gays

THE Zimbabwean government has reportedly clamped down on foreign gays and lesbians attending the International Conference on Aids and STI’s in Africa (ICASA) in Harare and seized their workshop material at Harare International Airport, NewsDay has learnt. 

*President Robert Mugabe and his wife, Grace 

This came as suspected State security agents yesterday pulled down an exhibition stand mounted by the group to display and house its members and sex workers at the conference venue.

The exhibitors were later allowed to display their wares, following massive protests and lobbying by local and international human rights groups.

Addressing a pre-conference workshop for key people, Kene Esom, the executive director of African Men for Sexual Health and Rights (AMSHeR), said the confiscation of most of their material by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) had disrupted the group’s programmes.

“The material is still held because the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority is still conducting an assessment on them. The challenge is that we have attended many conferences of this nature and we have never been required to pay duty on such conference material, especially when you had bid to host the conference,” Esom said.

“As you can see, it has impacted on the quality of the pre-conference because we have agenda material and information material for interaction, which we haven’t gotten.”

Esom said when Zimbabwe won the bid to host the conference, his organisation made an effort to lobby Health and Tourism ministers, as well as the National Aids Council (NAC), among other stakeholders, to guarantee the non-discrimination of key populations such as transgender people.

[VIDEO] We Are Not Gays - Mugage 

Will The Chibok Girls Ever Return?

By Maxwell Adeyemi  Adeleye

A graveyard silence enveloped the nation of Nigeria on the 15th day of April 2014 when the despicable news of the kidnap of 276 female students of Government Day Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State hit the blogosphere. The girls were said to have been abducted by suspected Islamic Fundamentalist Group, Boko Haram.

A series of protest trailed the kidnap saga aftermath the failure of the immediate past administration of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and the Nigerian security formations to rescue the girls from their abductors.

The incapability of Jonathan’s administration to unravel the misery behind the controversial kidnap of Chibok girls led to a wild condemnation and rejection of his reign within and outside the shores of Nigeria.

This singular factor indeed, contributed massively to the defeat of Jonathan at the polls in 2015 presidential election. The kidnap saga was a good campaign PR for the opposition desperately searching for central power. It was a well greased campaign that collapsed a political dynasty embedded with incumbency.

The hitherto loved, cherished and valued Jonathan by the international community because of his intellectual humility and erudition became a recluse character decorated with a legendary muffler of cluelessness, ineptitude and clumsiness.

In Nigeria, various groups advocating for the release of the missing Chibok girls emerged. Journalists, Activists, Social Commentators and Analysts within and outside the shores including myself descended on Jonathan and his security chiefs through our pen and voices.

Kogi: Faleke Rejects Nomination As Bello's Running Mate

Read Mr. James Abiodun Faleke's letter to the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun rejecting his nomination as Alhaji Yahaya Bello's running mate in the December 5 Supplementary Governorship election in Kogi State:  

“Re: My Purported Nomination As Deputy Governor”

“Information at my disposal from the National Secretary of our party, the All Progressives Congress, and my telephone conversation with your good self, confirmed to me that the party had issued INEC form and submitted my name as running mate to Alhaji Yahaya Bello in the forthcoming unusual and strange supplementary election scheduled for 5th December, 2015, covering 91 polling units in Kogi State to elect a “supplementary governor”.

“Mr. Chairman, you may recall that an election was conducted on the 21st November 2015, in which I was running mate to the late Prince Abubakar Audu: I therefore remain fully committed to that joint ticket which received the blessings of the party leadership, including your good self, evident from your attendance at the campaign rallies to ensure total victory for your great party through which the people of Kogi State massively and overwhelmingly voted for us.

An Apple Nigeria Needs To Eat

By Reno Omokri

For the second time in her existence, Apple Inc, the company founded by the two Steves (Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak) has been certified as the world’s most valuable company with a market capitalization of $772 Billion.

As I read the news on various news platform, I was struck by the comparisons of Apple with Nigeria and lessons we as a people could learn from this intellectual behemoth.

The first comparison would be that Apple is a company built on ideas. So for instance, while an American company like Ford is an epitome of the success of the industrial revolution age, Apple on the other hand is the poster boy for the knowledge worker age.
And nothing depicts this as dramatically as the fact that the former most valuable company, ExxonMobil, has a market capitalization that is only half of Apple’s ($382 Billion).

The first lesson for Nigeria then becomes that if our hopes for the growth of our economy is dependent on oil, ExxonMobil, the biggest oil company in the world, is a glaring example that we will continue to play second fiddle to those nations whose hope for the future is based on knowledge. Oil gave birth to ExxonMobil, knowledge gave birth to Apple. Go figure!

And when you look at the math, you would see that the numbers are preaching to Nigeria in a way that words cannot.
For one thing, Apple, today employs 115,000 people who together are paid more than all the approximately 40 million employed people in Nigeria make in a year.

The above should probably put Nigerian Governors on notice that their plan to reduce the minimum wage from ₦18,000 is an intellectually lazy idea that will cost them more than it would cure them.

Secondly, in 2015 Apple has made $215 Billion so far. This figure looks set to increase with the expected sales boost from Christmas. In comparison, Nigeria has made 10% of that amount in the same period.

The Biafran Truth and the Illegal Trial of Nnamdi Kanu

By ‘Remi Oyeyemi

“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”

  – Arthur Schopenhauer

“I’m for truth, mo matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it’s for or against.”

–  Malcom X

With trepidation, I have been watching the subtle descent into dictatorship by the administration of Muhammadu Buhari. I have been watching with disgust President Buhari’s war against freedom of speech. I am very concerned about desperate attempts by President Buhari and his sentries to muzzle the voice of self determination. I am very upset that a government of All Progressive Congress that claimed to love freedom is engaged in deliberate subjugation of innocent citizens who happens to have different views about the state of the polity.

*Nnamdi Kanu

I am very concerned that an innocent man is being denied his freedom. I am scared that an innocent man is being subjected to illegal detention. I am not comfortable that an innocent man is being tried for desiring freedom for his people. I am very disturbed that a non-violent man is being inflicted with unwarranted and undeserved travails. I am worried that a lot of unwary observers who are not properly schooled in the elementary tenets of democracy are vilifying an innocent man.

Nnamdi Kanu is an innocent man. He has not committed any crime to make him deserve the kind of treatment being meted out to him. You do not have to like Nnamdi Kanu. You do not have to agree with him or his desires for his people. But no one has the right to deny him his fundamental human right to be free. No one has the right to deny him the right to self-determine his destiny as he sees it or wants it. No one has the right to shut him up because they do not like what he is saying or because they feel threatened by what he is saying.

Mr. Kanu’s exploits are known to all and sundry.  His desire is to have a homeland for his people. His desire is to free his people from the shackles of Nigeria. His desire is to see his people get to the promised land of Biafra. His dream is to see his people in control of their own destiny. His desire is to have a say in who governs him and his people. His desire is to ensure that no oligarchy or neo-oligarchic interests within the Ndigbo homeland is able to hold his people in bondage. His desire is to be able to water the tree of liberty for his people. There is nothing criminal in or about all this.

In all this, he has only employed semantics. He has only deployed sophistry. He had only appropriated the airwaves to be able to reach his people. He has not acquired arms. He has not killed anybody. He has not declared any armed war against anyone or organization. The only war he has ever declared is against the continued subjugation, enslavement and denigration of his Igbo people. It is a war of idea. A war of and for the minds of his people to see what he is seeing, to desire what he is desiring, to dream what he is dreaming. And he is doing that peacefully. He has been able to make his case to the majority of Ndigbo and the youths of that nation who are indeed the future of Biafra.

He is mobilizing his people to engage in the struggle to be free from their enslavement by the Nigerian State. He is making a clarion call for his people to stand up for their rights and self determine their destinies, or collective destiny. He has been innovative. He has been peaceful. He has been determined. He has been methodical. He has been deliberate. He has been consistent. He has persevered. And he is making sacrifices. There is nothing criminal in or about this.

Biafra: A Home Truth

By Chuks Akamadu

THE current pro-Biafra wind blowing across the length and breadth of south- eastern Nigeria and some contiguous parts of the south-south geo-political zone reminds me of the timely warning of the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido. Not too long ago, the banker- turned traditional ruler was reported to have cautioned the nation on the grave danger in failing to pay proper attention to the worries of Ndigbo, noting that this generation of Igbo youths would likely dare the Nigerian state in an unimaginable manner since they neither suffer from a hang-over of the Nigeria/Biafra civil war – having not witnessed it, nor do they harbor any memories of that darkest page of Nigeria’s story book.

I would like to add that the present crop of Igbo youths grew up with a be- ware-of-the-enemy-within mindset, a siege mentality and a vanquished orientation, all of which combine to leave them in highly inflammable state. To make matters worse, the environment where they were nurtured was (and still is) rich in lack, rich in deprivation and rich in hostility. It is little wonder, therefore, that they willingly received the strange dogmatic exhortations of an Nnamdi Kanu and his Radio Biafra as food (holy sacrament, if you like) to their drained souls.

Elsewhere, I had argued that who I see on the streets clutching Biafra flag are not Biafran patriots – and they are not Biafra enthusiasts either; they are frustrated youths who are at war with a system that appears irrevocably committed to shrinking their individual prospects of survival and forecloses their chances to prosper.
Fortunately for them, the Radio Biafra hate ministrations capture, in significant ways, both their corporate imagination and existential realities whilst Nnamdi Kanu’s present duel with the law has offered them a window for self-expression.